A JUDGE yesterday expressed his astonishment that a heroin addict had been bailed three times - allowing him to break into 22 homes.

Jailing professional burglar Anthony Knighton for five years, Judge Michael Taylor said: "It defies belief."

The 30-year-old, of Pateley Moor Crescent, Darlington, received his tenth sentence at Teesside Crown Court yesterday.

He admitted four counts of burglary in Hartlepool, two of handling stolen goods and asked for a further 18 burglaries to be taken into consideration.

Ian West, prosecuting, said that in one raid he removed en entire bedroom window and in another he stole a fridge and a bed.

Knighton told police that he sometimes took a shopping trolley to carry away his loot and always carried black bags in case he found anything useful dumped in back alleys.

On October 30 last year, Knighton burgled a home in Hartlepool and was arrested while revisiting the premises. When interviewed by police, he admitted the offence before being freed on bail.

On January 10 this year, he burgled another house in Hartlepool and a further property on January 14 when he was arrested again - and again freed on bail.

Knighton, said Mr West, had then been questioned and charged with two counts of handling stolen goods.

On March 30, Knighton entered yet another Hartlepool house. The owner returned to find him in the hallway at 3.30am.

He stole a watch, a camera and a replica pistol, which was not recovered.

Paul Cleasby, defending, said Knighton had committed the offences to fuel his drug addiction and had a bad record of previous convictions.

He said that his client had admitted all the burglaries when interviewed and had now adopted a positive attitude towards the future.

Judge Taylor sentenced Knighton to five years and ordered him to serve 127 days consecutively from an earlier unspent conviction of three years and seven months, for seven burglaries imposed at Teesside Crown Court in October 1999.

The judge told him: "This is the tenth time you have appeared before a court to be sentenced for dwelling house burglaries.

"To my total astonishment, during this plethora of offending you were given bail on three occasions.

"It all defies believe, looking into your background, that you were given bail and allowed to carry on committing offences.

"You are a professional burglar and my public duty requires you to be kept away from the residents of Hartlepool for a long time."

North-East Victims Association spokesman David Hines said: "If this man was a prolific burglar he should have been in prison. Judges need to give tougher sentences.