Brett Albin told police he was a regular visitor to the property. He wasn’t.

A burglar who claimed he had visited a house to sell stolen goods has been jailed for 15 months.

Brett Albin, 40, broke into the house in The Boulevard, Frenchwood, while the householders were in bed overnight on February 15 to 16 this year.

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When the couple went downstairs in the morning they discovered their two iPads had been stolen from the sofa and a garden chair had been pushed up to the window to gain access to the property.

Albin’s fingerprints were found at the scene but when he was arrested he told the police he was a regular visitor to the house, claiming the couple bought around £60 of stolen goods from him each week.

However the couple said they had never met Albin, of no fixed abode, who was convicted of burglary by magistrates.

Preston Crown Court heard Albin has a lengthy criminal record for shoplifting and thefts to support his drug habit.

However since he has been on remand he has been weaned off drugs and is ashamed of his behaviour, the court heard.

Recorder Mark Ainsworth, sentencing, said: “You added insult to injury to the occupants of this house because you put forward a completely false account of why you had been there.

“Offences of burglary are regarded by society as serious offences. These offences cause real distress.

“People are distressed that criminals have been in their house while they have been asleep in bed. It is a distressing and upsetting experience, and that is reflected by the sentence imposed by the court.”