The life and crimes of 'The Marigold Burglar'

A career criminal from Manchester nicknamed 'The Marigold Burglar' is back behind bars after being linked to an array of goods stolen during a series of break-ins in Cheshire. Gary Clifton, 59, from Wythenshawe, has been jailed after his DNA was found on a water bottle.

It led police to secrets payments from an auction house for stolen items. The investigation began in November 2022 following a series of burglaries in Poynton and Disley, close to the border with Stockport.

Cash and a number of 'high-value' antiques and pieces of pottery were taken.

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Officers from Cheshire Police's Macclesfield CID trawled CCTV and carried out forensic enquiries. At around 5am on Sunday, January 15, they were alerted to a 'suspicious man' on the Coppice Road area of Poynton.

The force said officers 'came across a man on a bicycle who was loitering in the area and matched the description of the suspect in the burglary series'.

He dumped the bike and fled on foot, but it was recovered, along with a water bottle mounted on the frame, on which traces of Clifton's DNA were found.

The force said Clifton had had an 'extensive history of offending' and had previously gained the nickname of the 'Marigold Burglar' after a series of 'high value' break-ins in 2001 where he wore rubber gloves.

Following the DNA hit, mobile phone checks placed him at the scene of many of the burgalries as well as showing calls to an auction house in Stockport. Checks of his bank accounts also showed payments from them.

"Officers initially believed that the payments would be for items stolen during the 2022 – 23 burglary series, however they were shocked to discover that they were for