A CRIMINAL with, “an absolutely terrible record for dishonesty”, was jailed for 16 months after being found with electrical goods taken in a house burglary.

The property was among a haul taken by intruders from an address in Wesley Terrace, Chester-le-Street, while the occupants were on holiday, between December 26 and January 9.

Durham Crown Court heard the stolen goods included a laptop computer, worth £200, a £40 computer tablet, plus a keyboard and mouse, a laser measure, a bag of keyrings, as well as a purse and its contents.

Rebecca Brown, prosecuting, said defendant Kevin Lee was arrested on January 14 for an alleged shoplifting offence which has not since been pursued.

But, as a result of his arrest, police searched Lee’s home, in Victor Street, Chester-le-Street, less than four minutes walk from the burgled house.

Miss Brown said the stolen laptop and tablet computer were recovered from a kitchen cupboard, while the laser measure and the bag of key-rings were also found elsewhere in the house.

Lee, who gave a positive drug test, made mostly "no comment" replies when interviewed, but did tell police he was an occasional user of heroin.

Miss Brown said he was on police bail at the time following his arrest, on December 24, for alleged shop theft.

She told the court that Lee’s record features 26 convictions for 46 offences, including eight house burglaries, plus other non-domestic break-ins.

They included a conviction for several burglaries for which he received a five-year sentence, in December 2011.

As a result of his arrest for the latest offence he was recalled to serve the rest of that sentence, which does not expire until November next year.

Miss Brown added that the latest offence also put him in breach of two conditional discharges for shoplifting in Chester-le-Street and the Arnison Centre, Durham, committed earlier last December.

Twenty-eight-year-old Lee admitted a charge of handling stolen goods, relating to the recovered items.

Vic Laffey, for Lee, said the property found had a value of far less then £1,000, but he conceded that an aggravating feature of the case was Lee’s record.

Jailing him, Judge Christopher Prince told Lee: “You’re 28 and you have an absolutely terrible record for offences of dishonesty.

“You have no respect or regard for other people’s property.

“But, given the previous sentence you must now complete, this sentence will not greatly effect the time you spend in custody.”