The couple from Walsall spent three years breaking into houses in the Black Country, sometimes together and sometimes with others, to steal car keys.

But they stole much more than just keys – they looted money, jewelry, sunglasses, laptops, phones and even bananas from a fruit bowl – but most of all they robbed their victims of their peace of mind.

They destroyed their place of refuge and many were no longer able to enjoy their homes after the Walsall gang’s early morning visit.

When Halls, 18, and Clifton, 19, were sentenced to a total of ten years in prison at Wolverhampton Crown Court last week, victims said the break-ins had left them deeply shocked.

One said: “Knowing they were in my house while we were all upstairs sleeping was very disturbing, it’s very scary. Who knows what could have happened if we had woken up.”

Under the cover of darkness and using a stolen car with copied license plates, three or more people would usually attack single-family homes night after night with the same plan.

Find a nice house with two or more cars in the driveway, pull up the hoods, put on the masks, break in, and be ready for confrontation, but confident that you can get in and out unnoticed.

They used stolen cars at night to get to other people’s houses, which they then robbed until everyone in the gang had their own car.

In Bilston, a family watched in horror on their CCTV that morning as all three cars in a convoy were driven out of their driveway.