A burglar who broke into the home of a Suffolk couple while they and their three children were asleep and stole a camera containing precious family photographs has been sentenced to two years youth detention.

After entering the house in Downton Drive, Haverhill through an insecure window, Steaven Middleditch spent more than an hour going backwards and forwards removing items from the property including a 55 inch television and 17 bottles of alcohol, Ipswich Crown Court heard.

He also stole a speaker, a sword, wallets containing bankcards and a camera containing irreplaceable family photographs.

Godfried Duah, prosecuting, said although the camera was recovered most of the photographs of the owners' children had been deleted.

Middleditch, 20, of no fixed address, admitted burglary on April 26 and asked for seven offences including two burglaries to be considered.

Sentencing him, Judge David Goodin said it had taken Middleditch more than an hour to remove items from the house and it was likely he had an accomplice.

He said the home wners were horrified that one of their children could have woken up during the burglary and were devastated that precious family photographs had been deleted from their camera when it was recovered.