Callous pair scammed and burgled elderly Gateshead couple after pretending to do gardening work

Two men have been jailed after conning and burgling a vulnerable elderly couple in Gateshead under the guise of gardening work.

In June 2023, Lyon Dunn knocked on the door of the victims in Chopwell, offering to cut their grass for £40. He insisted on being paid upfront and drove the elderly man—who had recently suffered a stroke—to a cashpoint to withdraw the money, despite being banned from driving.

Over the following days, Dunn returned to ask for more money, claiming his gardening equipment had broken. Eventually, he showed up with Philip Byrne, and when the victim couldn’t provide more cash, they entered the house uninvited and stole a TV off the wall.

A neighbour’s photograph helped police identify Dunn and link Byrne to the crime.

Dunn, 34, of Fontwell Drive, Gateshead, admitted fraud, burglary and driving while disqualified. Byrne, 24, of Blyth Street, Chopwell, also admitted burglary—alongside other violent crimes committed while on bail.

These included two aggravated burglaries and an attempted aggravated burglary. In one, he broke into a man’s home in Birtley armed with a crowbar. In another, he returned to the same home with others, this time carrying a machete. Days later, he was involved in an attack where ammonia was squirted in a victim’s face.

Recorder Geraldine Kelly called the pair’s actions “cruel, callous and cowardly,” saying they targeted those “who couldn’t do anything to stop them.”

Byrne was jailed for six years. Dunn received a three-year sentence.