A RAIDER who struck twice, helping himself to a £10,000 shop haul and sneaking into a woman's home, has been jailed for 42 months.

Jamie Holding, 25, broke into a mini-market in Branch Road, Burnley, where he took a haul of cigarettes, lottery cards and a £500 float.

Four months later he entered a property in Manchester Road in the town, taking a digital camera, purse, cash, photos and bank cards, Burnley Crown Court heard.

The householder, Sarah Johnston, who had been watching TV with a friend, was so upset and angry after the attack on her home, she vomited.

She told police she held down two jobs to provide for her family and found it very difficult to accept someone had just walked into her home and stolen from her.

Holding, of Carter Street, Burnley, admitted two charges of burglary.

Stephen Parker, prosecuting, told the court last November the defendant broke into the shop overnight.

At 5.45am a worker found the ground floor window had been removed and a lock forced open. Among the stolen property were cigarettes to the tune of £3,500.

The defendant was arrested, and interviewed and released on police bail for further enquiries. Footprints found at the shop matched Holding's shoes. By the time he was charged, he was already on remand for the second burglary.

The court heard that on March 9, Sarah Johnston was at her home with her children and her friend.

At 8.30pm, her friend went into the kitchen, saw the back door was open and the victim’s purse missing.

Mr Parker said the pair saw two men by the back gate, one agreed to be searched and nothing was found on him.

The other, the defendant, walked off down the back street.

Ms Johnston went back into the house to call the police and the men were seen walking across a field..

A digital camera was found hidden between a tree trunk and wall and her keys were on the ground near the wall.

Ms Johnston could see her purse in a bin and £80 cash, photos, stamps and bank cards were missing.

When the defendant was questioned by police, he denied anything to do with the burglary and claimed he and his associate had just been walking along a back street. The defendant had 33 previous convictions, some of them for burglary.