Trio forced their way into flat while owner was in hospital

A judge told the defendants they had burgled the home of a ‘particularly vulnerable’ individual

14:49, 21 Jun 2026

Three people smashed their way into the home of pensioner while he was ill in hospital, a court has heard. One of the burglars had only been out of prison for a matter of hours when he broke into the flat looking for money, while another knew the victim and knew where he kept his cash, and the third welcomes a return to prison where he can get three meals a day.

Sending the defendants down, a judge at Swansea Crown Court told them they had burgled the home of a “particularly vulnerable” individual.

Craig Jones, prosecuting, told the court that on May 27 this year people living on Oxford Street in Swansea heard Short outside the victim’s flat calling his name and banging on the front door. He said the victim was in the habit of “allowing people into his flat” but that on the day in question he was not at home as he was an in-patient in hospital.

The barrister said Short was joined Ben Watson and Sean Dempster, and said a witness heard a male voice asking Short if the occupant of the flat had any money – Short replied that he kept it “in the sofa”.

The court heard the defendants then kicked and shoulder charged the door until it “collapsed” and they forced entry. Once inside they carried out an “untidy” search of the property.

The prosecutor said the trio were then seen leaving the property with Short carrying a “large dark-coloured item”. He said it had not been possible to find out what was taken from the flat as the victim is still in hospital.

The court heard that the break-in was reported to police and the defendants were identified from CCTV footage in the area. For the latest court stories sign up to our crime newsletter

Cara Louise Short, 34, of Wood Close, Neath; Sean Dempster, 38, of Oystermouth Road, Swansea; and Ben Watson, 32, of Gwylfa Avenue, Townhill, Swansea, had all previously pleaded guilty to burglary when they appeared in the dock for sentencing.

Short has previous convictions for offences including theft, battery, public disorder, and assault occasioning actual bodily harm. She was subject to a suspended sentence at the time of the burglary.

Dempster has previous convictions for offences including affray, false imprisonment, intentional suffocation, and criminal damage. Watson has previous convictions for burglary, battery, and criminal damage. He was subject to a conditional discharge at the time of the burglary.

Giles Hayes, for Watson, said on the day of the burglary his client had been released from prison and after seeing his son had ended up in city centre where he “fell into association with like-minded individuals” and consumed a large amount of alcohol before committing the offence. He said the defendant’s partner is due to give birth next week and he realises that by his own actions he is going to miss it.

Megan Williams, for Short, said a pre-sentence report detailed the “trauma and difficulties” the defendant had experienced in her life. She said Short had started misusing drugs at the age of 16 and said her life had “spiralled downwards” after losing the care of her son. She said since being remanded into custody the defendant had been receiving medication for her mental health issues.

Andrew Evans, for Dempster, said a report before the court detailed the “adverse childhood experiences” suffered by the defendant, and he said it was perhaps not surprising that his adult life had been marked drug misuse and periods of imprisonment. He said the reality was that Dempster was “not capable of being in society and not committing offences”, and he said the defendant had told him he would welcome custody as it would mean a roof over his head and three means a day.

Judge Paul Thomas KC told the defendants that they had burgled the home of a “particularly vulnerable” individual while he was in hospital.

With one-third discounts for their guilty pleas the defendants were each sentenced to two years in prison.

The judge activated 12 weeks of Short’s previously imposed suspended sentence to run concurrently with the new sentence, and he imposed no separate penalty for Watson’s breach of a conditional discharge. The defendants will serve 40 per cent of their sentences in custody before being released on licence to serve the remainder in the community.