A burglar who sparked a police helicopter chase through gardens in Hampstead has been spared jail.

Llias Ebnchaid, 20, of Gardner House, Redhill Street, Regent’s Park, was given a nine-month suspended prison sentence at Blackfriars Crown Court yesterday after admitting one charge of burglary.

He was arrested alongside two males on June 3 on suspicion of burglary after police were called to reports of men behaving suspiciously in the vicinity of Willow Road and Pilgrim’s Lane, in Hampstead, just after midnight.

Residents in the area reported being woken by the noise of a police helicopter as it pursued the suspects in the neighbourhood.

Ebnchaid, Emiliano Seferaj, 20, of Pound Lane, Willesden, Brent, and a 16-year-old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, were all charged with aggravated burglary. Ebnchaid also faced two separate burglary charges.

All charges against Seferaj and the 16-year-old boy were eventually dropped.

Ebnchaid was also handed a four-month curfew yesterday, restricting him from leaving his home between 12pm and 7am, and required to pay £250 compensation to his victim.