A BURGLAR walked free from court yesterday so that he could tackle his alcoholism.

Craig Wynne, from Stockton, has had a serious drink problem since he was 14 and had 24 convictions for burglaries, Teesside Crown Court was told.

Wynne, 36, pleaded guilty to two commercial burglaries in May and June last year at site cabins on The Riverside at Stockton and at Bathrooms Direct on the Portrack Estate, Stockton. The haul included computer memory cards.

He recently made efforts to cut down his alcohol intake, and had stopped keeping a stock in the fridge, "like a smoker carrying a few cigarettes when he is trying to give up", said Stephen Constantine, mitigating.

Mr Constantine told Teesside Crown Court: "This man has trouble with alcohol and would benefit from some assistance in that area."

Wynne, of Eastport Road, Stockton, who recently completed 220 hours community punishment was sentenced to another 180 hours and given 12 months community rehabilitation with supervision.

Judge Richard Lowden told him: "You have a dreadful record for commercial burglaries. However, over the past five or six years the frequency of that kind of offending has been tailing off."

The judge told him: "I hope that within that the probation service will address your drinking problem. If this does not work, then it will have to be prison."