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A burglar tried to raid the home of a frail 83-year-old woman – before he escaped police custody while in handcuffs.

Aidan Porteous, 27, made the daring attempt because he was desperate for a “last fix” of heroin.

According to HullLive, the notorous criminal wriggled free and ran off while he was being taken for treatment to an injury, but he was later found hiding under piles of bedding at the home of his grandparents.

He was still wearing the handcuffs and claimed that he would have handed himself the next day anyway after he had topped up his heroin, Hull Crown Court heard.

Porteous, from The Avenues, Hull, admitted escaping from lawful custody, burglary, attempted burglary, theft and failing to surrender to bail.

Neil Coxon, prosecuting, said that a man living in Newland Avenue, Hull, was woken by a friend knocking on a window on June 24 to say that a window had been smashed and the door was open. An electric scooter, valued at nearly £400, had been taken. Blood at the scene was traced to Porteous.

On July 9, Porteous took another electric scooter, valued at £300, but he was identified from CCTV pictures. He was arrested on July 18 but failed to attend court.

The attempted burglary in Bransholme, Hull, on October 25 happened while a frail 83-year-old woman, who had a weak heart and mobility problems, was at home. Porteous was seen on doorbell footage trying the door handle of the house at 4.16am, but he was not able to get in.

The woman’s daughter, who lives in the house but was away at the time, later said: “This person thinks it is acceptable to try to enter my house and I think that’s disgusting. I am thankful that he didn’t get into the house. This incident could have been fatal if he had got into the house. My mum is frail and has a weak heart. It could have killed her.”

Porteous was arrested on October 25 and, while he was in custody, had an injury so had to be taken to Bransholme minor injuries unit. He asked to go to the toilet and, while he was in the process of being moved from one area to the other while handcuffed, he was “able to make good his escape”.

He ran away on to Goodhart Road, Bransholme, before going to Barnstaple Road. “An officer gave chase but tripped over and was caused injury to his face,” said Mr Coxon.

“Just after 10am the next day, police attended at the defendant’s grandparents’ property in Cranbrook Avenue and found him hiding at the side of a bed covered in piles of bedding. He still had the handcuffs on his right wrist at the time.”

He had a small package of heroin inside the leg of his tracksuit bottoms. “During police interview, he said that he ran away because he needed a last fix before going to prison,” added Mr Coxon. “He would have handed himself in the next day. The heroin was for his own use.”

Porteous had convictions for 26 previous offences between 2012 and 2020. In January 2019, he was convicted of threatening the manager of Mario’s Fast Food in Greenwood Avenue, north Hull, with a kitchen knife while hurling a string of racial abuse, including calling him a “P*** c***”. Among a string of other offences, he avoided jail in January 2016, just over a year after being given an ASBO, after being seen performing wheelies on a motorbike in the car park of the Tesco supermarket in Hall Road.

Digby Johnson, mitigating, said nobody was actually disturbed during the burglaries and attempted burglary. “He fully understands the gravity of these matters,” said Mr Johnson.

“He has sunk to new depths. He was away from the police for a short period of time and there was no massive expense with a manhunt.”

After a previous stint in custody, things had been going well for Porteous, who had been working on the docks. However, he suffered two bereavements, gave up work and became introspective. “Sadly, it all fell to pieces,” said Mr Johnson. “He had started to use cocaine and there was the use of heroin as well. He wants to look to the future in a positive way.”

Jailing Porteous for two years and seven months, Judge John Thackray KC told him: “Some people never recover from having their house burgled.

“Thankfully, the elderly woman was not made aware of what you were trying to do but, nevertheless, it must have been extremely frightening and upsetting for her daughter.”

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