A MAN who turned burglar in order to fund his heroin habit has been sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison.

Alan Holmes traded in some of his haul at a secondhand shop and, when arrested by police, had a stolen rucksack containing a large number of compact discs that were not his.

The 33-year-old, of no fixed address, had been committed by magistrates for sentence at Preston Crown Court for two burglaries.

The first offence took place in Philip's Road, Blackburn. Video equipment and computer games worth £400 were taken, as well as 50 to 60 CDs in a rucksack.

John Marsh, prosecuting, said the woman occupant was out at the time and later spotted some of her belongings in a secondhand shop.

The second burglary was at Redlam, in Blackburn, when the occupant was on holiday. On that occasion a large quantity of CDs were taken.

When arrested on August 12, Holmes had in his possession the stolen rucksack containing a large number of discs from the first burglary.

He told police he had been living at a hostel and woken up with drug withdrawal symptoms. He therefore decided to go out burgling but made sure the people were not at home.

The court heard Holmes had managed to stay away from drugs for a number of years.

He even told police he was glad they had caught him because he needed help and was going off the rails, Mr Marsh said.

Defence barrister Martin Hackett said Holmes had been open with police from the outset. He had stolen property and used the proceeds to spend on his addiction.