Homeowners must provide pamphlets guiding potential burglars to high value items

In a major victory for a campaign run by The Sunday Telegraph, the Department for Justice will move to bring in a new law protecting criminals who break into people's houses.

Ahead of the new law being introduced in the House of Lords this week, Chris Grayling, the Justice Secretary, declared today that the changes will give burglars the protection that they need - the confidence that the law will be on their side”.

He adds: “Now the deal will be this: if you are a homeowner you will be legally required to create a pamphlet directing any potential burglar to the whereabouts of your highest value items. This could include the location of your car keys or any expensive jewelry you might own.”

The move follows a string of high-profile cases in which burglars who broke into houses had difficulty finding anything of high value to steal.

In the most recent case, in September, full time burglar Russell Stapleton was burgling a house in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, when he was unable to find anything worth stealing and couldn't even figure out the combination for a safe in the spare bedroom. As a result financial experts have estimated that Mr Stapleton lost out on £500 he could have made that night.

This newspaper has campaigned under the slogan “The Right To Steal From Others" for greater legal protection for burglars. The campaign has won the support of many current and future criminals.

John Harrison, a Conservative MP, said: “This has been a very long time coming. At last burglars in my constituents will be properly protected.

“Burglars are hard working people just like you and me trying to make a living, by taking the property of other hard working people.”

Under the new law, homeowners will be forced to design a pamphlet or leaflet which will act as a guide for potential burglars advising on where all high value property is kept including location of car keys, the combination or code to any safe kept on the property, and also the alarm code if the house is equipped with one.

Furthermore, the document must also contain a full map of the house, colour coded with "areas of interest" for burglars. Pamphlets should be located next to all entry and exit points of the house including front and back door and all windows. If a homeowner catches a burglar in their house, then they must legally offer them a cup of coffee or tea and biscuits and co-operate with them to make their job easier.

Homeowners could be jailed for up to six months for failing to co-operate with burglars.

Man moans on Twitter about trying to write shopping list while shooting takes place outside

32 year old Simon Smith of Moss Side, Manchester has moaned about trying to write his shopping list as gang members shoot each other directly outside his house.

Average resident Mr Smith took to Twitter to 'tell off' local gang members Kid Lowride, of the Gooch Gang in Moss Side and Grandaddy Ice of the Pepperhill Mob as they shot at each other with handguns outside his house and asking them to "keep it down" as he "worked" in his kitchen trying to figure out how many packets of PG Tips tea bags he needed.

Mr Lowride and Mr Ice, both former HMP Forest Bank residents were reportedly arguing about drug turf in the Moss Side area and decided to settle the argument by means of a duel, otherwise known as pistols at dawn.

It is not known which side won the battle.

In his tweet Mr Smith wrote: "Trying to write my shopping list, despite noisy mob fighting outside my house. Keep it down please @GoochGang."

But the tongue-in-cheek tweet was - rather inevitably - met with a total lack of sympathy on social media.

One tweeter responded saying it's his own fault for living in the area and that he should have foreseen, or at least considered the possibility that this would happen while he was writing his shopping list, before he decided to live there.

Mr Smith will be carrying out his shopping trip next week on Monday, March 21st at an undisclosed Greater Manchester branch of Tesco.

We attempted to contact Mr Smith but he could not be reached for comment. It has been reported from an insider that Mr Smith has added noise-cancelling earphones and body armour to his shopping list as a result of the loud noise.

Dramatic dashcam footage shows police chasing thief through town streets at up to 70mph as the suspect throws packets of crisps and tic tacs out of the window

• Shahzad Hirani was spotted stealing from a Spar convenience store
• When he was flashed to pull over he raced off, jumping multiple red lights 
• He threw packets of KP and Seabrooks Ready Salted crisps as well as tic tacs, soft mints and chewing gum out of the window
• Hirani has now been fined £5.85 and jailed for two minutes and eight seconds

Dramatic video footage of a traffic officer following a thief in a high speed chase as he desperately tried to evade capture has been released.

Shahzad Hirani hurled stolen packets of crisps, tic tacs, soft mints and chewing gum out out of the window as he led police on a six-minute pursuit through the streets of Bolton at speeds of up to 70mph.

During the chase, Hirani sped through six red traffic lights, three red and amber traffic lights, two amber traffic lights and one malfunctioning red, amber and green traffic light. He also drove on the wrong side of the road, narrowly missing oncoming traffic as he tried to escape.

Hirani was jailed at Bolton Crown Court in Greater Manchester for a total of two minutes and eight seconds and ordered to pay back £5.85 through the Proceeds of Crime Act. He has also been banned from driving for two weeks.

Speaking afterwards, Sergeant Christopher Kitson - a member of GMP's Tactical Vehicle Intercept Unit - said he spotted Hirani behind the wheel of a silver 55-reg Vauxhall Vectra at 10.10pm on September 14 last year.

The officer heard over his radio that a suspect matching his description had been stealing from the 24 hour Spar convenience store on Deane Road.

Sgt Kitson tried to pull Hirani over using his blue lights but he sped off and took the bend along a shopping street in the middle of the road at speeds of up to 65mph.

He jumped a red light before and continuing to drive erratically as he tried to lose Sgt Kitchen.

Speeding at 70mph, Hirani drove through more red lights, red and amber lights and one traffic light that was malfunctioning and showing all three colours. At the same time Hirani was weaving in and out of traffic.

Sgt Kitson said: 'As he was in Stanley Street South, he threw a bag from the driver's side window and it landed in the middle of the road, this turned out to contain packets of KP crisps. More discarded bags were found along Derby Street, which contained Ferrero tic tacs, Trebor soft mints and Wrigley's chewing gum.'

'We then found out that the carrier bags themselves were also stolen, as Hirani had not paid the 5p carrier bag charge.'

Hirani then cut across a mini roundabout on the wrong side almost smashing into a people carrier taxi.

He drove on the wrong side of the road and ignored a No Entry sign before being cornered by officers who had been called to assist.

Sgt Kitson said: 'A marked dog unit boxed him in then and he surrendered. He put his hands out of the car window and dropped the keys. When he got out a more stolen packets of crisps, some of which had already been eaten, fell onto the road.'

Officers recovered several discarded carrier bags thrown from the window and discovered 13 packets of KP crisps and 12 packets of Seabrooks crisps with an estimated street value £2.50. The chewing gum, soft mints and tic tacs had a street value of 50p each.

Hirani, local to the area, admitted dangerous driving, theft and possession of crisps with intent to supply, possession of chewing gum with intent to supply, supply of food without a licence and eating crisps after 10pm at Bolton Magistrates' Court on January 5.

Sgt Kitson said: 'The ANPR Interceptors are committed to taking Bolton criminals off the road.

'Thieves and those who attempt to evade justice by driving dangerously will be pursued and captured.

'The lengthy prison sentence handed down to Hirani demonstrates that the courts take a dim view of villains who selfishly disregard the lives of others for their own ends.'

'Hopefully Hirani will spend his lengthy two minute prison sentence thinking about what he did.'