A burglar who committed a string of burglaries in Suffolk and Essex to fund his drug habit has been jailed for three years.

Patrick Burke, 24, committed the offences between May and November last year and on each occasion he gained entry to the premises by smashing glass in a door or window before making an untidy search of rooms, Ipswich Crown Court heard.

Property stolen during the burglaries included jewellery and computer equipment and other items he could sell easily, said Robert Sadd, prosecuting.

He said Burke was linked to the burglaries by forensic evidence.

Burke, who comes from the Bury St Edmunds area but has been in custody, admitted burglaries at Thorns Close, Wickhambrook; Withersfield Road, Haverhill; and Boyden Close, Wickhambrook; and three burglaries in south Essex.

Jailing him for three years, Judge David Goodin said the burglaries of people’s houses were exceptionally serious.

He said one of the break-ins happened in a short space of time after the householder nipped out to pick up a relative from the nearby station. He said the daughter of another victim, who suffered from depression, had refused to wear clothes that had been in the house at the time of the burglary and had also refused to return to live at the property.

Christopher Martin, for Burke, said his client’s drug addiction was at the root of his offending and the vicious cycle of him committing offences on his release from prison would continue if he did not get help for his drug addiction.

He said Burke wished to apologise to the victims of the burglaries and hoped they could take comfort from the fact that the person who had broken in to their homes had admitted the offences.