A hero schoolgirl caught two thieves red-handed when she called police from under a BED after the duo had smashed into her home.
Burglars Marcus Speirs, 32, and Richard Ansah, 29, forced open a back door at the home in Erdington, Birmingham, and began searching for valuables.
But the crooks hadn’t realised a 13-year-old girl and her nine-year-old brother – who were alone in the house – had ran upstairs and grabbed a phone.
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The quick-thinking teenager hid under a bed and dialled 999 before Speirs spotted the siblings and threatened them with a garden hoe.
But luckily police officers arrived at the family home within four minutes of the emergency call and arrested the pair.
Speirs, from Hockley, Birmingham, was charged with aggravated burglary whilst Ansah, from Sutton Coldfield, West Mids., was charged with burglary.
And the pair were sentenced to nine years and four years in prison respectively at Birmingham Crown Court on December 20 after admitting the charges.
Speaking after the hearing, West Midlands Police Detective Sergeant Mark Langley, said: “The young girl showed extreme courage and, crucially, had the awareness to grab a phone and take cover whilst dialling 999.
“She remained calm throughout what was undoubtedly a terrifying incident and was able to clearly and accurately relay details to a police call handler.
“The girl’s textbook actions meant we were able to get officers to the scene within four minutes and catch both men in the act.
“These are two dangerous offenders – men who put young children through a shocking ordeal – and they have rightly been handed lengthy terms behind bars.”
Speirs and Ansar, who was armed with a metal bar, broke into the address just before 6.30pm on May 7 last year.
The court heard Speirs was the main aggressor who snatched the phone from the 13-year-old girl and threatened her with the garden hoe.
He was later found with the handset when searched in police custody.
Det Sgt Langley, added: “The evidence against both men was overwhelming and they pleaded guilty at an early stage.
“It meant neither child needed to give evidence – but had they been required to we have special measures in place to assist vulnerable witnesses when giving evidence and officers on hand to guide them through the process.”
