A DRUG addict who raided the homes of four elderly people has been jailed for five years.

The pensioners, three women aged 92, 85 and 65, and a man aged 67, all lived alone and were vulnerable targets, Teesside Crown Court heard.

Lee Jones, 22, pleaded guilty, yesterday, to four burglaries in the space of one month, in Middlesbrough.

The court heard the 92-year-old woman lost a wedding ring and engagement ring that she had treasured for 70 years.

Prosecutor Ian West said Jones stole the jewellery, and other property worth £9,559, from the 65-year-old widow.

He said that all four victims were at home or in their gardens during the daylight when Jones struck to feed his heroin addiction.

Jamie Hill, defending, said that Jones, who was full of remorse, did not know the residents were elderly people.

But the judge, Peter Fox, said: "If it had been one or two I might have accepted that, but four makes it too much of a coincidence."

He told Jones, of Wembley Street, Middlesbrough: "Your drug addition is not the slightest excuse.

"These elderly people have been left frightened, upset and feeling insecure, and one is fearful of leaving her home again.

"I take into account your age and guilty pleas, but I have to pass a sentence which protects the public."