AN elderly man wants no more to do with his grandson, who broke into his home, stealing his pension money and a sovereign ring.

John George Middleton planned the daytime burglary when his grandfather was out, gaining access after removing roof tiles from the bungalow, on December 12.

Durham Crown Court heard that he carried out, “a tidy search”, taking his £593 pension money, hidden in a shoe, and removing the Queen Victoria sovereign ring from a bedroom drawer.

Martin Towers, prosecuting, said 74-year-old James Middleton was initially unaware of the burglary on his return to his home, in Seaham, County Durham.

It was only the following morning that he felt cold and, on checking through the loft hatch, noticed a hole in the roof.

Looking round various rooms he discovered what had been taken.

Mr Towers said a neighbour reported having seen someone wearing dark clothing acting suspiciously in the area.

“Significantly, that evening, the defendant went to the home of a woman and bought a moped for £605, the obvious inference being that he used the money taken from his grandfather’s house.”

When Middleton was arrested the following day, at an address in Consett, he was still in possession of the ring.

Although he admitted being a regular visitor to his grandfather’s home, he claimed he was not responsible for the burglary.

“The defendant said he would not steal anything from his grandfather, who he said had given him the ring of his own volition about a week earlier.”

Middleton, 20, of Gray Avenue, Murton, denied burglary, but changed his plea to ‘guilty’ on the day of his scheduled trial, on April 30.

Mr Towers said the admission was only made when his grandfather, the victim, turned up for the trial.

The court heard Middleton’s 33 previous convictions include an assault on his own mother and theft from the home of an aunt, with whom he was staying at the time, taking her bank card and Pin number, to withdraw money from her account.

Mr Towers said the burglary caused “great heartache” for Mr Middleton snr, who never wanted to see his grandson again.

Penny Bottomley, mitigating, told the court: “Thankfully, the ring was recovered and returned to Mr Middleton.”

She added that Middleton has been in custody since his arrest, the day after the offence.

Jailing him for 16 months, Judge Simon Hickey imposed a restraining order forbidding Middleton from contacting his grandfather or going to his street.

He ordered that £95 recovered from Middleton on his arrest should be paid in compensation to his grandfather.