LevellerLive

I am not sure at what point The Leveller® became the ‘Martock Leveller’, but all of our main stories over the past weeks seem to have come from the town! Yesterday Liam Raybould, 39, of Martock was jailed after breaching an earlier community order. The order was imposed by the court following a burglary conviction. He was convicted of burglaries in Constable Close, Yeovil, in November 2018.

On Thursday 28 November he was jailed for a total of three years and eight months. This was both for the original burglaries and new offences including aggravated vehicle taking, dangerous driving, driving while disqualified, possessing cannabis and shop theft.

Raybould was also further disqualified from driving for 34 months and must take an extended retest before getting behind the wheel again. Avon & Somerset Police told us that they take burglary very seriously and are committed to identifying those responsible and bringing them to justice.

However especially over the Christmas period there is a lot that homeowners can do to help make their homes more secure and put off would be criminals.

You can help by:

– locking up and setting the alarm, if you have one, at night as well as when you go out

– making sure your door is locked by turning the key – some ‘paddle and stub’-handled doors might seem to be locked by lifting the handle, but can still be opened from outside

– keeping windows and doors secure if you’re not in the same room

– fitting a letterbox cage

– hiding your handbag or wallet, keys and other portable valuables safely out of sight

– keeping tools locked up in a secure shed or garage

– making sure garden furniture and wheelie bins can’t be moved to gain access to upstairs window