A NIGHT-TIME prowler in a Halloween mask who left householders terrified was responsible for more than 60 crimes, it has emerged.

Ian Walker was caught in December after an alarming spate of burglaries in his own community around Loftus, east Cleveland, went undetected.

The unassuming 45-year-old - never in trouble before - had worked all his life until an accident, then volunteered at an animal shelter.

But his was the face behind the £1 mask and the intruder who was sometimes confronted by his victims in their homes in the early hours.

Walker was jailed for 28 months after he admitted five burglaries, and asked for 60 other offences to be taken into account by the judge.

Teesside Crown Court heard how the six-month crime spree began last summer when he was suffering from depression following family deaths.

He spent the money he took during the raids, but stashed lots of the gear - particularly DVDs - at his home in St Martins Close, Liverton.

His lawyer, Andrew White, said Walker would work in victims' gardens for free and pay back £15 a fortnight if he could be spared prison.

Mr White argued today (Tuesday, March 31) that his was a special case, and the judge, Recorder Eric Elliott, QC, could ignore the sentencing guidelines.

"Not only is it out of character, it is also mystifying as to why a man of that age and character should embark on this spree," he said.

"I fully accept that in normal circumstances an immediate custodial sentence would follow . . . it is a plea for mercy to step back."

The court heard how Walker returned twice to two of the properties weeks later, leaving the occupants feeling afraid and vulnerable.

One of his repeat victims was 78, and another aged 61 punched Walker's arm after he woke to find the raider reaching through a broken window.

Mr Recorder Elliott said he was lucky none of the elderly householders suffered heart attacks, as he might have been facing a murder charge.

He said the mask was "intended to put people in fear" and told Walker: "You clearly deliberately targeted those houses as being easy prey."

Among the offences he confessed to after his arrest, were 11 house burglaries, 37 raids on sheds and garages and a dozen thefts.

Mr White said: "Many of these would not have been detected without his assistance . . . he would like me to apologise to the victims.

"It is a small community that he lives in, and he has apologised in person to a number of victims, and in some cases it has been accepted."