A BOGUS window cleaner was jailed for four years after admitting stealing property worth £18,000 in break-ins at 26 houses.

Bolton Crown Court heard how Anthony Baxter used to visit houses on the pretence of being a window cleaner to see if anyone was at home.

If the property was empty Baxter broke in stealing anything he could sell to fund his voracious heroin habit.

Baxter, aged 22, of Rosedale Avenue, Atherton, appeared before the court to be sentenced for six charges of house burglaries involving £12,000 worth of property. He also asked for 20 other similar burglaries to be taken in to account, involving more than £8,000 worth of goods.

Prosecutor Paul Treble said Baxter burgled properties in Coniston Street, Leigh; Grove Street, Hindley; Barton Street, Tyldesley; Weston Street in Atherton and at Haydock.

In one case he stole almost £7,000 worth of "irreplacable" jewellery with sentimental value.

In other cases he took videos, jewellery, watches, cash, spirits, CDs and cameras, all of which were sold for small amounts of cash to feed his heroin habit. Only a small portion of the stolen property was recovered. Police traced Baxter through fingerprints and he told them he pretended to be a window cleaner to see if anyone was home. A partner forced his way into empty properties by smashing rear windows and then let him inside.

While on remand at Forest Bank prison he had approached the Drug Support Agency and a place had been found on a drug programme at Lancaster Prison.

He was jailed for four years to be served after he has completed 61 days of an outstanding prison

sentence.