Yorkshire car burglar broke into houses then paraded stolen motors on TikTok

Reece Callum Davidson, 25, pleaded guilty to stealing more than a dozen cars after videos surfaced on TikTok of him with the nicked vehicles.

He'd targeted properties in York and its surrounding villages with high-specification cars parked outside between May and October 2022, police said.

In total, he stole seven VW Golf Rs, one Golf GTE, one Golf GTi, one VW T-Roc, a BMW M3, an Audi S3, and Seat Leon Cupra, along with other goods from homes.

Footage later appeared on TikTok showing a balaclava-clad man, believed to be Davidson, driving the pilfered performance cars, which were later advertised for sale.

North Yorkshire Police later launched a probe into the spate of so-called 'Hanoi burglaries', where robbers break into homes to steal car keys.

They later found Davidson had damaged the locks on the doors and windows of his victims’ properties, before grabbing their keys and driving off in their motors.

While several cars have been recovered, some were sold to buyers from Bradford, Wakefield, Hull and London and a number of them are yet to be found.

Davidson, of Acomb, North Yorkshire, had been handed down a five-year jail term for past offences in March last year.

And he was given a further four years in prison at York Crown Court on Wednesday (Jan 10) after pleading guilty to 13 burglaries and 12 car thefts.

He also admitted two counts of handling stolen goods, a burglary at Tadcaster Yorwaste site, and one attempted house burglary.

Speaking after sentencing, DC Oliver Dalby said: “The victims of Davidson’s offending have been profoundly affected by his crimes.

“Some of them awoke in the middle of the night, to find him in their home wearing a balaclava. I can only imagine the fear that such an experience would cause.

“I would like to thank them for their support and patience throughout the investigation.

“Operation Zinc was a painstaking investigation that drew on the specialist skills of a number of departments across the force including response teams, crime scene investigation, intelligence, data analytics, forensics and the proactive specialist team known as Operation Expedite.

“The successful outcome is a result of hundreds of hours of work by dedicated officers and the strength of the evidence gathered has left Mr Davidson with no option but to admit his guilt."