Former semi-pro footballer turned burglar Kane Nolan jailed

Ex-Macclesfield Town footballer, Kane Nolan was the assigned get-away driver in a gang of four young men who targeted three properties in Warrington and Leigh.

Chester Crown Court heard what detrimental impact the incidents had on each of the homeowners affected, with one husband having to lock his terminally ill wife and two children into their en-suite while the gang attempted to ransack their home.

The 22-year-old was told that immediate custody was appropriate punishment after he admitted taking part in three burglaries.

Prosecuting, Jade Tufail read out the facts of the case, starting with the first burglary in August 2021 at a property on Hope Street in Leigh.

She said: “At 5.04pm the victim was in the rental address watching TV when he saw four males wearing balaclavas break into the home.

“They demanded drugs from him. One had a metal baseball bat. The male struck him to the head with it.”

A camera located in the hallway of the property captured the horrific incident and the footage was played out to the court.

This showed one thug strike the victim with the metal bat and he immediately fell to the floor before they began shouting at him.

He screamed: “I don’t know, I don’t know where it is,” with judge Steven Everett remarking that the footage was ‘pretty awful’.

Ms Tufail explained that the males then left the property and removed the victim’s wallet from the sofa as they did which they later discarded.

“The victim had a 2 cm laceration to his head as a result of the injury.”

A snippet of the victim impact statement read to the court said: “I find myself dreaming of what occurred. Often, I look in the mirror and I can still see the scar on my face that will never go away.”

Then on September 3, 2021, police received reports of a break-in at an address on Ashberry Drive in Appleton Thorn at 9.05pm while the owner was on holiday.

Officers discovered a rear French door panel had been smashed and a search of the master bedroom had taken place by balaclava wearing men.

Kane Nolan was jailed at Chester Crown Court

A hammer had been left on the bedroom floor, which the owner confirmed belonged to him, but was usually kept in the garden.

A total of £7,800 worth of items had been stolen, many of which the victim said were incredibly sentimental.

These included his late mothers wedding and engagement rings and his late wife’s wedding and engagement rings too.

After making police aware, officers conducted a search of the area where the jewellery was found, and a handbag was also discovered which was identified as stolen.

“He was then nervous about living at his home at night,” Ms Tufail said of the victim’s impact statement, explaining that he would move ‘heavy pieces of furniture’ in front of the internal doors every night to delay entry to his property after finding out the gang had targeted another property on the same street.

As part of enquiries, automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) data was reviewed and showed a silver Mercedes in the Warrington area near the address shortly before and after the incident. This was registered to Nolan.

Cell site analysis also put Nolan’s mobile phone in the area around the time of the offence.

Just one week later, on September 10, 2021, another property was targeted in Ashberry Drive at approximately 9:42pm.

One male picked up a spade and another picked up a garden ornament. They attempted to use ‘bodily force’ to prize their way into the house but failed.

Alerting the family inside the house, the homeowner shouted out of the window telling them to go away.

The thugs responded shouting ‘we are f**king coming in’ and continued to attempt to break into the property.

“The homeowner was forced to lock himself, his terminally ill wife and two kids in the en-suite while they smashed a window to get in," Ms Tufail recalled.

They later fled the scene and the defendant’s phone was traced in the same location as well as his vehicle.

Another heart-breaking victim impact statement was read to the court which said: “This has changed me as a person. This happened at a time when my wife was terminally ill with cancer.

“She passed away nine months later. My daughter will not stay in the house alone.”

Kane Nolan was jailed at Chester Crown Court

Judge Everett commented on the devastating turn of events involving the victim’s wife. He said: “Her last nine months were spent worrying about the safety of her loved ones.”

Again, ANPR and cell site data showed Nolan’s vehicle and mobile phone were in the area at the time of the offence.

On October 21, 2021, Nolan was arrested by Greater Manchester Police and Cheshire Police following a warrant executed at his home address on Ena Crescent in Leigh.

Nolan was interviewed under caution and stated he was not inside the addresses during the offences and was only the driver.

He refused to identify his co-conspirators and was later charged on July 21 last year.

Katie Appleton, defending, stated that he told officers he was ‘giving the lads a lift’ and was not necessarily aware of the extent of the burglaries being committed.

She said: “He is 22 years of age. He is a father to a four-month-old baby boy. He has signed as an amateur footballer again; he was a semi-professional footballer for Macclesfield Town when he was 17.

“He began hanging out with three males, two invited him to parties and paid for petrol and he would drive them around.”

Before sentencing, judge Everett said: “This is a really serious case. There is no reality of a suspended sentence.

“This is now a case of how long I send him to prison for,” with Nolan sentenced to 57 months in prison.

Following Nolan’s sentencing, DC Neil Mooney said: “I welcome the sentence handed to Nolan.

“He showed no concern for the families he targeted, putting them through an extremely traumatic and frightening experience.

“These offences put a huge strain on people’s lives, not only with the financial impact, but also making people feel unsafe in their homes, which is the one place everyone should be able to feel comfortable.

“While I am glad Nolan is now behind bars, it is clear he did not act alone. If anyone has any information, you can contact us by calling 101 or visiting our website.”