A BURGLAR who climbed through a house window while the occupants slept has walked free from court after a judge gave him one last chance.

Daniel Drury stole vodka, £35 from a purse, a pot of £1 coins, credit cards and chocolate after breaking into a house in High Street West, Redcar, on August 26.

The burglary happened in the middle of the night when the couple living in the property were asleep upstairs.

The 24-year-old, of Lingdale Grove, Redcar, was arrested after his fingerprints were found at the scene.

He admitted the crime when interviewed by police, saying he had earlier drunk more than five litres of cider and taken sleeping pills.

After the burglary, he fell asleep in a bush on a golf course and had little recollection of the incident, Teesside Crown Court heard today (Thursday).

Julian Gaskin, mitigating, said his client wanted to apologise for the moment of "absolute stupidity".

He added: "This is a young man who can do things. He tells me he wants to get an education and he's quite clearly motivated to change."

The court heard Drury, who pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing, had eight previous convictions for 11 offences, including criminal damage, theft and causing racially aggravated alarm and distress.

Sentencing him to ten months, suspended for two years, Judge Peter Armstrong told the defendant: "This is your first dwelling burglary - it better be your last because otherwise you will be placed in prison for a considerable time."

Drury was made subject to an 18-month supervision order, a six-month alcohol treatment order and a four-month curfew.