A HOUSE raider possibly facing a minimum of three years in jail was spared prison after a judge said the sentence would be unjust.

Burnley Crown Court heard how Christian Ormonde, 38, could have been locked up for three years as a "three strikes" burglar because of his record.

But Recorder Arthur Noble decided the circumstances of the case were exceptional.

The court was told Ormonde had gone into a house in a drunken and drugged up state after finding out he had hepatitis C.

He was caught out after having a smoke and leaving a cigarette butt in the premises.

The defendant, of Grange Street, Burnley, had admitted burglary. He was given 12 months in prison, suspended for two years, with 18 months supervision and the Addressing Substance Related Offending programme.

The judge told Ormonde, now said to be working, it would have been quite proper for him to impose three years but he took the view it would be unjust.

Sarah Statham, prosecuting, told the court the house, in St Matthew Street, Burnley, was under renovation but was fit for occupation.

The owner left the alarm on last October and returned the following morning to find the house had been burgled.

The cellar window had been smashed and a door in the middle had been forced.

Wires were hanging down from the alarm box and she believed an attempt had been made to disable the alarm. A wooden blind had been taken.

Police found a fingerprint and the defendant was arrested on the basis of a preliminary DNA hit on a cigarette butt.

Miss Statham said even before he was arrested, Ormonde had returned the stolen blind to the victim.

Ormonde had previous convictions for burglary and supplying drugs and had been to prison.