A BURGLAR disturbed midway through ransacking a house was identified after the victim took photos of him on his mobile phone.

The householder, who held John Jahan’s arm to stop him fleeing but was punched, managed to hit the defendant back twice.

Prosecutor Harry Hadfield told Teesside Crown Court Jahan managed to struggle out of his clothing and make off, but not before the victim used his mobile phone to take three pictures of him.

A detective later identified the 35-year-old and he was arrested at his mother’s home.

Mr Hadfield said the victim had returned to his Middlesbrough home at about 1.10pm on October 27.

He heard a noise upstairs and found a laptop, games console and set of headphones placed in a rucksack.

He found Jahan in an upstairs bedroom stuffing items into a suitcase. When challenged, he said: “It’s okay, just leave me. I thought it was my sister’s house.”

Jahan, of Colville Street, Middlesbrough, admitted burglary. He had 33 previous criminal convictions including the February theft of a computer from the University of Teesside.

Duncan McReddie, mitigating, said Jahan was under the influence of prescription drugs and had also drunk a large amount of alcohol.

The court heard how the bulk of his past convictions dated from the 1990s and he had spent 12 years ‘crime free’, bar an odd minor matter.

Judge Deborah Sherwin said: “There was ransacking of the property, the occupier returned home to find you present and there was a confrontation during which threats were made by you.”

She jailed Jahan for 16 months.