A BURGLAR who ransacked a family home while they were away on holiday has had nine months added to the sentence he is already serving.

About £15,000 of jewellery, designer goods, jeans, perfumes and cosmetics was taken in the raid in Quebec Road, Stockton, in September.

John Green, of Elm Close, Northallerton, North Yorkshire, was arrested after his fingerprints were found on a sweet tin inside the house.

The 35-year-old accepted breaking in and stealing property, but his barrister said he insists his haul was not as large as the list of missing items.

Duncan McReddie, mitigating, told Teesside Crown Court that Green says he took rings, necklace and costume jewellery and sold them for £100.

Green was jailed for 27 months just days after the break-in for earlier burglaries and his sentence, therefore, takes that into account.

Judge Simon Bourne-Arton, QC, added nine months to the term, which means the serial thief will not be freed until early 2014.