Drug addict Darryl Harper was jailed after a court heard how he was caught red-handed after breaking into a house.

Neighbours spotted the 22-year-old acting suspiciously outside a house in Blandford Court, Park North, at lunchtime on Tuesday, October 16, Swindon crown court heard.

Colin Meeke, prosecuting, said that they called police after hearing glass breaking.

Officers went into the house, he said, where they found the defendant hiding behind the door in the main bedroom.

"He had with him the paraphernalia of the house-breaker latex gloves and a screwdriver," said Mr Meeke.

"He had helped himself to a social security book and a mobile phone and £500 of property had been selected to be taken away. It was all recovered and £70 of damage was done.

"In interview with police he said he had gone there to burgle the house. He said he intended to sell the property to pay for a drug debt. He would also use it to raise money to further feed his addiction."

Mr Meeke said that during the interview Harper volunteered to police that he had also taken part in a break-in at a house in Lychett Way weeks earlier.

Mr Meeke said that the householder had left the property empty while he was house-sitting for a friend and returned to find a window broken. Property worth £1,300 was taken.

Harper told police he was asked to help a friend in the nocturnal raid and they scaled a fence before smashing a window with a claw hammer.

The two burglaries took place after Harper had cashed two benefit cheques which he stole from his girlfriend while she was away.

He also asked for the theft of £1,100, which he took from his stepfather by using his bank card, to be taken into consideration.

At an earlier hearing Harper, of Cromer Court, Liden, pleaded guilty to two burglaries and two deceptions.

Toby Huggins, defending, said that despite his drug problems, Harper had worked as a forklift truck driver for three years after leaving school with some GCSEs and went on to spend two years in stock control at Motorola.

Jailing him for 18 months, Judge Tom Longbotham said: "Burglaries of people's houses have to be considered as very serious. The effect of this on householders is very serious."