Chilling doorbell footage captures masked machete-wielding burglar on violent rampage - now he's behind bars

The thug was caught on camera during a violent rampage where he smashed up cars and demanded money from his terrified victims. In the video, Nathan Smith, 33, is seen wearing a balaclava, gloves and brandishing a machete, as he smashes the windscreen of a vehicle parked in Cambridge Crescent, Bassingbourn, at about 2.40am on 21 November (2023).

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He waved a machete while demanding cash

Smith, who was highly intoxicated, then barged his way through a garden gate and walked up the path to a side door and smashed the glass while demanding the occupants hand over money.

While the victims inside called police, Smith continued to cause damage from the outside, shattering the kitchen window, leaning inside and waving the machete, before leaving a few moments later. He also used the machete to break the glass of a Citroen Nemo and a Renault Capture, also parked in the street. Smith was found by armed officers a short distance from the home asleep on the ground with the machete lying next to him.

Smith, of Old North Road, Whaddon, was sentenced to five years and ten months in prison after pleading guilty to aggravated burglary, possession of an offensive weapon and three counts of criminal damage.

Detective Constable Zoe Bramley, from the Southern Acquisitive Crime Team, who investigated, said: “Smith’s actions cannot be blamed on his intoxication at the time. His actions demonstrated a level of planning as he was wearing gloves, a balaclava and was wielding a machete. He went on a rampage using extreme violence damaging three vehicles in the street before terrorising the occupants of the property he targeted. I hope that following this sentence, the victims can now feel safe within their community.”