A YOUNG heroin abuser carried out a spate of break-ins at homes in neighbouring streets while trying to kick the drug habit, a court heard.

Scott Anderson, 21, was yesterday jailed for 18 months after Durham Crown Court was told of his burglary spree last November.

John Temple, prosecuting, said Anderson took £1,554 worth of property from a house in Front Street, Pity Me, near Durham, on November 2, and four days later stole a mountain bike and the £400 contents of a whisky bottle coin collection from a flat in Brackenfield Road, in Framwellgate Moor.

He was arrested near the scene, but on his release on bail he carried out a burglary a fortnight later, taking two coats and a bag containing £60 from a house home in Ghyll Field Road, Framwellgate Moor.

Anderson was arrested at his girlfriend's home four days later and made full admissions, informing police of other properties he had targeted.

Nafeesa Choudhury, for Anderson, said at the time he was trying to wean himself off heroin.

He was undergoing methodone treatment, which he found "difficult to cope with", said Miss Choudhury.

Miss Choudhury said that having been remanded in custody for the first time in December, Anderson has suffered depression in prison.

Anderson, of Frankland Road, Framwellgate Moor, admitted three charges of burglary and asked for seven other offences, including three house break-ins, to be considered.

Jailing him, Judge Denis Orde described Anderson's offending, particularly at the home of his elderly neighbours, as "shabby". However, he said he was pleased to hear of Anderson's efforts to come off heroin, which he hopes prove successful.