A BRAZEN burglar who treated himself to tea at Burger King with the bank card he had just stolen has been jailed for more than three years.

Steven Spencer, 49, went on a mini-shopping spree just hours after raiding a home on St Luke’s Road, Sunderland, in March this year.

The thief sneaked into the property while the occupants were inside and made away with a wallet and purse. He then used the stolen cards to spend over £100 on goods including clothes, beer and chocolate.

He also bought a meal deal at Burger King during his hour-long spending splurge, before the quick-fire transactions prompted a suspicious alert sent to the victim by the bank.

In April this year Spencer admitted two counts of burglary and three charges of fraud by false representation at Newcastle Crown Court.

Spencer, of Front Road, Ford Estate, Sunderland, has been jailed for three-and-a-half years after appearing before the same court on Friday.

Detective Constable Alex Hadwin, of Northumbria Police, said: “Knowing an intruder has sneaked into your home can be incredibly unnerving for a victim, given the highly-intrusive nature of the crime.

“Steven Spencer showed little regard for his victims and then had the audacity to go to the pub and Burger King to spend their money as part of a spending spree.”