A burglar stole cash, tools and a van from a nursery providing opportunities to adults with disabilities and disadvantages.

Oliver Glynn appeared in custody at Suffolk Magistrates' Court on Thursday.

The 34-year-old admitted entering Nowton Park Nursery, in Bury St Edmunds, with intent to steal on the night of September 7.

He also admitted possessing a small amount of cannabis when arrested the next day.

Glynn, of St John's Way, Thetford, left a crowbar behind after using it to break in.

Prosecutor Wayne Ablett said staff arrived to find an open door and window, and a shed lock broken.

Manager Lyndsey Hessey reported between £200 and £250 cash missing from a safe, along with gardening tools and a still missing Transit van worth £1,500.

Police attended Glynn's address and saw him carrying a garden strimmer to a vehicle.

A search of the property turned up a box full of stolen garden equipment, while Glynn was also found with £180 cash in his pocket.

Glynn denied the offences in police interview and was released on bail, under curfew at his home address between 8pm and 6am.

Meanwhile, police matched a footprint found on a desk at the nursery with footwear worn by Glynn at the time of his arrest.

He was rearrested and kept in custody when police attended his address and received no response at about midnight on December 2.

Mr Ablett said Glynn had 39 convictions for 89 offences, including 24 convictions for theft or dishonesty. He was given an 18-week jail sentence for non-dwelling burglary in January.

Mr Ablett asked magistrates to commit the case to the crown court for sentencing.

Jeremy Kendall, mitigating, applied for Glynn to be released on bail with an electronic tag.

He said Glynn had hitherto complied with numerous doorstep checks over two months but claimed not to have heard police officers knocking on his door in the early hours of December 2.

Mr Kendall said Glynn had tackled issues with drugs and had recently been accepted on a Jobcentre scheme to work voluntarily as a gardener while claiming universal credit, with a view to gaining employment.

Magistrates remanded Glynn in custody until a date to be fixed at Ipswich Crown Court. They also ordered a pre-sentence report from the probation service.