A RECOVERING heroin addict was jailed for 12 months yesterday after admitting burgling his uncle's home.

Peter Butterfield, 30, was with a friend when they used a garden spade to force open a window and door to get in the house, Teesside Crown Court heard.

Neighbours saw the pair acting suspiciously in the street near the Teesside home and alerted police, who caught Butterfield. His accomplice ran off, said Mike Bosomworth, prosecuting.

He said Butterfield had been hiding when the officers found him.

The court heard how the defendant, of Waldridge Road, Hardwick, Stockton, had not taken drugs since May and had a regular job.