A MAN who preyed on elderly people was jailed yesterday for four years and four months.

Gary Young was the getaway driver when another man walked into an 86-year-old woman's home and stole her handbag. Then, a few days later, Young walked uninvited into a 74-year-old man's home and took cash from under his nose after telling him he had come to clean his chimney.

Yesterday, Young, 28, of Stockton Road, Hartlepool, appeared before Teesside Crown Court and admitted two offences of handling stolen goods, driving while disqualified and burglary.

The court heard that, last July, Young had been jailed for 30 months for thefts from the homes of elderly women. He faced a further 13 months' imprisonment for those offences because he committed the latest offences while on licence.

Judge David Bryant ordered Young should serve the 13 months plus 39 months for the new offences. He banned him from driving for two years.

The judge told Young: "You are a menace to elderly people."

Rod Hunt, for Young, said he had wanted to save the witnesses from coming to court and had pleaded guilty.