TELL-TALE forensic evidence at the scene of a country house burglary helped police to finger the man responsible.

Ashley Coglan, 37, left finger prints at the isolated rural property, to which he gained access to by throwing a brick through a window, Durham Crown Court heard.

He admitted taking antiques and personal possessions in the break-in, in the Cornsay area of north-west Durham, in May, and was jailed yesterday for three years.

Thirty weeks was added to the three years by Judge Richard Lowden, activating an unserved part of a previous unexpired prison sentence.

Tim Parkin, prosecuting, said the value of the haul and the cost of the damage caused in the break-in exceeded £5,000. None of the property has been recovered.

Eric Elliott, mitigating for Coglan, said: "There was a degree of a lack of sophistication in this offence, he didn't even wear gloves.

"He's a family man and he felt at the time he was letting them down because he couldn't provide for them, so he tried to get money in the only way he knew how."

Mr Elliott said Coglan, of Kilburn Street, Shildon, County Durham, was "shocked" on discovering the value of the property he had taken, as he sold it for only a few hundred pounds.

Judge Lowden said he had no alternative but to impose the prison sentence.

"It was a vulnerable house in an isolated position. The householders had already suffered other burglaries, which I know was not your fault, but it only added to their misery.

"There was also a premeditated nature to this offence and much of the property you stole was irreplaceable. Unlike televisions and hi-fis, these were antiques and family possessions.

"The effect upon the householders must have been severe," said Judge Lowden