A JUDGE promised to spare a burglar from prison, providing he continued efforts to kick his drug habit.

Richard Mark Hunter came before Durham Crown Court for a break-in earlier this year.

Hunter took property worth £6,240, including lap-top computers belonging to three undergraduates, from the house they shared in Mitchell Street, Durham.

David Callan, prosecuting, said the premises were ransacked and none of the stolen possessions had been recovered.

Blood stains at the scene, near a window where Hunter gained entry, allowed police to pinpoint him through a DNA match, said Mr Callan.

When arrested and interviewed two months later, he initially claimed he leaned through a window which had already been smashed and took a lap-top, which he sold to buy drugs.

Hunter told officers he was high on valium at the time of the burglary, in April.

Amanda Rippon, defending, said he began taking solvents, progressing to cannabis, heroin and cocaine, following a difficult upbringing.

But she said that since the break-in, Hunter had been sentenced to a community rehabilitation order for another offence and had voluntarily referred himself to a drug withdrawal agency.

Miss Rippon said he had made progress in trying to wean himself off his addiction.

Hunter, 27, of Tebay Drive, Slatyford, Newcastle, admitted burglary.

Judge Richard Lowden deferred sentence for six months.

He told Hunter that, although the offence merited imprisonment, he wanted to ensure his progress kicking drugs continued.