A BURGLAR who sold a steam cleaner he had stolen to buy drugs has been jailed for more than two years.

At the end of January, Jonathan Banks broke into a property that was being renovated on Holly Hill, in Shildon, and stole power tools and the steam floor cleaner, worth a total of £416.

The 28-year-old then sold the items for cash to buy heroin.

He also stole a bike worth £200 from outside the Co-op on Redworth Road, in Shildon, on February 7, which he then sold on Facebook for £50.

On that same day, he also stole seven bottles of gin worth £140 from the Spar store on Jubilee Road.

On March 6, he stole clothes from the Original Factory Shop, in Shildon, before returning the following day to steal more.

The next day, March 8, he stole around £40 worth of chicken from the town’s Co-op. Banks, of Holly Hill, Shildon and was interviewed by officers from Bishop Auckland CID and admitted the offences.

He appeared at Durham Crown Court last week, where he was jailed for two years and four months.

Sergeant Alex Clarke, from Durham Constabulary, said: “These are unsophisticated, opportunist crimes and I am pleased that Banks had admitted his guilt.

“He has caused misery to people in Shildon, so I hope this result reassures people that he is now off the streets and behind bars.”