A PROLIFIC burglar’s life of crime started when his cousin was killed in a car crash, Bolton Crown Court heard.

Andrew Urmston, aged 30, from Balmoral Road in Farnworth has a criminal history of 64 separate offences stretching back to 2005.

Yesterday he was jailed for four years and two months for two more burglaries, each involving the theft of a car and causing significant distress to the families involved.

Urmston’s defence counsel Colin Buckle said: “When the defendant was six his parents abandoned him. His grandmother raised him and played an important hand in raising his cousin. They didn’t see his parents.” In December, 2004 a man was sentenced at Bolton Crown Court for killing Urmston’s cousin. On January 23, 2005 Urmston committed his first offence of being drunk and disorderly, the court was told.

Five years later he was convicted of his first burglary.

However, Judge Richard Gioserano was not swayed by Mr Buckle’s arguments. He told Urmston, who appeared via video link from Forest Bank prison: “You are 30 years of age and the time has come that the difficulties you have faced cease to be mitigation for the distress and the trauma you inflict on other people.”

David Lees, prosecuting, told the court how overnight on February 26 and 27 this year Urmston had broken into a home in Capitol Close.

The family discovered their front door was open in the morning, an engagement ring worth £600, a laptop and tablet were missing, as were Xbox games, car keys and their Ford Mondeo. Their kitchen window appeared to have been forced open. CCTV images of Urmston were seen by police after he used a bank card he had taken to spend £11 at a McDonald’s drive-thru at 6.29am while driving the Mondeo.

A victim statement from the mother said: “My family and myself have been very distressed knowing someone has been in our home rooting through our belongings.”

On February 28 in Leverhulme Avenue Urmston used an unlocked side door to enter the home of Alan Norris at about 2am. In the morning Mr Norris could not find his wallet. Urmston was spotted wearing a balaclava in Sainsbury’s car park and rooting through the boot of a Volkswagen Scirocco. Police arrested him and the car was found to be registered to Damian Norris.

After the sentencing Mr Norris said: “I’m fairly happy with what he got. But he’s going to do it again when he comes out.”