A MAN found with a stolen iPad not long after it was taken in a nearby house burglary was jailed for 11 months.

But Brian Gilchrist could have been facing a much longer sentence had he been convicted of carrying out the break-in itself.

Gilchrist was sentenced at Durham Crown Court today (Wednesday, March 27) having admitted a charge of handling stolen goods.

But he was also accused of committing the burglary, at a house in Wingate, County Durham, on Thursday November 15, last year.

Adrian Dent, prosecuting, told the court the iPad appeared to have been taken in a sneak burglary at the premises in Bruce Crescent, while the female householder was out walking the dog and another resident was in an upstairs bedroom, at about 8.30am.

Mr Dent said initially nothing appeared amiss, as there were no signs of an intruder having been in the property, but it was only later in the day that it was discovered that the iPad was missing.

A tracker device fitted to the tablet computer traced it to a nearby wooded area, where Gilchrist was arrested in the vicinity.

He said he bought the device for £30 from a man who approached him and he left it in the woods for safe-keeping.

The 37-year-old, of Laing Square, Wingate, denied having carried out the burglary, and the court heard there was no evidence of him having entered the house.

He was found not guilty on a unanimous jury verdict on the second day of a trial today.

Following the verdict, Gilchrist was sentenced for the handling offence.

Ron Mitchell, mitigating, said: “He does have a long history of offending and has been in custody since his arrest, during which time he has also served a further prison sentence for an opportunistic theft offence.

“He tells me has been able to come off the drugs.”

Jailing him, Recorder Jonathan Bennett told Bennett: “It’s serious because it was within a short period of the burglary taking place, both in location and time.

“A significant aggravating feature is the length of your previous convictions for burglaries, including three offences for lesser dishonesty last year."

The judge also ordered Gilchrist to pay a victim surcharge of £100.