Man Jailed For Rigging House With Home Alone-Inspired Traps
Man Inspired by Home Alone Jailed After Rigging House With Booby Traps
If you’re going to model your criminal enterprise after a Christmas movie, maybe don’t pick Home Alone.
A 60-year-old man in South Yorkshire has been jailed for seven years after rigging his house with booby traps to protect his drug business — and prosecutors say he admitted he was inspired by the classic Macaulay Culkin film.
According to court proceedings, Ian Claughton used tripwires and homemade pipe bombs around his property in Grimethorpe. Around 100 nearby homes were evacuated in May 2024 while police searched three neighboring houses connected to Claughton and his ex-wife.
Inside, officers found:
- A fishing wire stretched across a room at knee height, connected to an electrical connector and battery pack
- A homemade flamethrower in a workshop
- A stun gun hidden behind a fridge-freezer
- Two high-powered air guns
- A crossbow
- Large quantities of cannabis and amphetamines
- And approximately $27,000 sewn into a sofa
During the trial, prosecutor Helen Chapman told jurors that if the situation sounded like Home Alone, that was intentional — saying Claughton himself told police that was what he was aiming for.
Claughton was ultimately caught after Border Force intercepted a package at Heathrow Airport containing five folding, five-shot imitation revolvers addressed to his ex-wife. Prosecutors said Claughton had ordered them using her eBay account.
Cannabis plants were also discovered growing in two of the houses, including some inside hidden rooms and tents.
Claughton pleaded guilty to:
- Bringing a realistic imitation firearm into the country
- Being concerned in the production of cannabis
- Two counts of possession with intent to supply class B drugs
He was also convicted of:
- Three counts of possessing prohibited firearms
- Possession of criminal property
- Possession of explosive substances
He was cleared of a firearms charge related to the stun gun.
His ex-wife, Lesley Claughton, 59, was sentenced to 21 months in prison, suspended for two years.
A detective said Claughton appeared to have developed a “siege mentality,” drawing inspiration from Home Alone to defend what police described as an illicit cannabis growing operation.
SOURCE: Sky News
