A BURGLAR who raided the home of a friend was jailed for two years yesterday.

Teesside drug addict Matthew John Gibson had been out of prison three months when he broke into the home of a middle-aged couple and their two grandchildren.

He stole £1,000 worth of property including jewellery, perfume, a telephone, a power tool, and a Sony PlayStation and computer games belonging to one of the youngsters.

Teesside Crown Court heard that the children had been afraid to sleep alone in their bedrooms since the break-in on April 19 this year.

Prosecutor Harry Hatfield said Gibson, 29, who has more than 20 convictions over a ten-year life of crime, was linked to the burglary through DNA after leaving blood at the scene.

The house, in Westfield Road, Redcar, was left unoccupied when the 47-year-old woman tenant went to visit a family member.

A couple of days later a neighbour, who had been asked to keep an eye on the property and feed the family cat, noticed a smashed window and the front door slightly ajar.

Mr Hatfield said a wedding ring was among the property taken after part of the semi-detached council house had been ransacked.

Gibson, of Corporation Road, Middlesbrough, pleaded guilty to burglary and his barrister Ian West asked the judge to consider imposing a drug treatment and testing order rather than prison.

Mr West said: "Although he has plenty of convictions, he has never entered anyone's house before and taken property. He is shocked and ashamed that he has done it to a friend of his and has not been able to face her and apologise for what he has done."

The Recorder of Middlesbrough, Judge Peter Fox, accepted Gibson had pleaded guilty at the first opportunity.

But he told him: "The fact that you were addicted, and had been addicted to drugs for a long time, is no excuse whatever.

"The loss to this poor family is substantial. They were not insured and quite apart from the monetary value, the jewellery included items quite obviously of important sentimental value.

"Of special consequence is the fear your actions have induced into the grandchildren and that's a seriously aggravating feature of your crime."