A BURGLAR has been jailed after ransacking a nurse's home when she was at work.

Luke Walker, who was described in court as a practised villain, stole a "huge haul" of electrical items from the house in Deane, in October last year after breaking in through a back door with two teenage accomplices.

The trio spent four hours inside the home of nurse Anne Spiller before fleeing to nearby Fern Hill Avenue. They were tracked down by police at the address the same night after reports from neighbours.

Walker, aged 24, attempted to escape by climbing a fence in the garden and when a police officer tried to grab him he kicked out, causing the officer minor injuries.

He was then wrestled to the ground and restrained with the use of CS gas.

Walker, who previously pleaded guilty to burglary and assaulting a police officer with intent, was described as a “practised villain” by judge Peter Davies, owing to his record of 34 previous convictions, including several for burglary.

Mark Friend, defending, said: "He had recently come out of prison and had found himself in a situation with no money, no home and no one to turn to.”

The court heard that the majority of the “huge haul” of goods were recovered from the address at Fern Hill Avenue, but an iPad and Kindle were never found.

Sentencing Walker to a jail term of three years and four months, Judge Davies said he believed the most serious aspect of the case was that Walker allowed the two teenagers to follow him on his criminal path.

He added: “These two boys are a decade younger than you and one of them has no previous convictions whatsoever.

“You may say that you didn’t persuade them to take part but you didn’t deter them either, you were by far the senior partner and I’m satisfied that you were in charge.

“Not only that but you assaulted a police officer as well and that is an offence that must attract a custodial sentence.”

The two boys, aged 13 and 14, and who cannot be named for legal reasons, have pleaded guilty to burglary.

They will be sentenced at a later date.