A DRUG addict who admitted handling part of the proceeds of a £4,600 burglary has been spared a jail sentence and sent into drug rehabilitation.

Mark Mathews, 23, of Brecon Avenue, Oswaldtwistle, admitted handling stolen goods and allowing himself to be carried in an Astra car taken without consent in September last year.

He was placed on probation for 18 months with a condition that he resides at a drug rehabilitation centre for six months.

Co-defendant Angus Munro, 28, of Westwood Road, Blackburn, admitted burgling the house on Barker Lane, Mellor, and taking the car. He faces other matters at Derby Crown Court and is awaiting sentence. He will be dealt with for the Mellor burglary in September at Derby.

Richard Hunt, prosecuting, told Preston Crown Court the burglary at Mellor took place while the elderly owners were away for the weekend. Property worth £4,600 was taken, including a violin worth £2,000.

Police later saw the two defendants in a parked car and found property from the burglary. More property was found in a search at Westwood Road.

Nicholas Kennedy, defending, said Mathews had a drug habit and had fallen out with his father. Munro had allowed Mathews to stay two nights at his flat.

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