A burglar who raided the home of a man he met through a Suffolk alcohol treatment service and stole treasured items including a watch belonging to his grandfather has been jailed for five years.

Sentencing 46-year-old Darryl Barfield, Judge David Goodin said that in addition to the watch he had stolen the victim's film and music collections which had been amassed over a lifetime and a photograph of his grandfather in his First World War uniform.

Ipswich Crown Court heard the isolated cottage at Hundon was ransacked during the burglary and it was likely that several trips were made to the premises while the owner was staying with his wife in Cambridge.

Barfield, of Strasbourg Square, Haverhill, had pleaded not guilty to burglary at the cottage in Mount Pleasant, Hundon between November 22 and November 28 but was convicted by a jury after a trial last month.

The court heard he had 98 previous convictions.

In an impact statement read to the court the victim of the burglary described the devastating effect the break-in had had on him and his wife.

He said the degree of "malicious vandalism and thorough pillaging" of his home had a serious impact on his physical and mental health and had resulted in him having a breakdown and spending two weeks in a psychiatric unit.

Since the burglary he had been diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and was suffering from depression and panic attacks.

He said his grandfather's watch, passed down to his father and then to him, was his prized possession and its theft had left him heartbroken.

Computer equipment, power tools, mountaineering and hiking equipment, family pictures and a digital camera had also been stolen as well as his film and record collections which were the result of "a lifetime of trading and collecting."

He said he felt betrayed because Barfield had attended a recovery programme with him and the burglary had resulted in him losing faith and stopping his work at a rehabilitation centre in Chelmsford.

Philip Farr, for Barfield, said those involved in the burglary with Barfield may have made repeated trips to the premises.

He said Barfield had had issues with drugs and alcohol and had health problems.