PROLIFIC burglars caught red-handed raiding a Bolton home are today beginning lengthy prison sentence.

Neighbours heard Mark Evans and Shaun Wynne breaking into the property in Chorley Old Road, Bolton Crown Court heard.

One man intervened and forced Evans to hand over a stolen laptop computer, said prosecutor Ellen Shaw, before the burglars walked off.

Police were alerted and Evans and Wynne were spotted, having returned to the area, and they were arrested. Wynne had a mobile phone taken in the burglary in his possession and was also carrying a craft knife.

Miss Shaw said CCTV footage taken from the property showed the pair breaking into the house through a patio door.

The court heard Evans was also involved in an attempted break-in at the Home Bargains store in Farnworth in October last year. Two men tried to force open security shutters with a shovel.

Evans, of 46, of Hughes Street, Bolton, admitted to burglar and attempted burglary. Wynne, 39, of Cobden Street, Bolton, admitted to burglary and knife possession. Both were jailed for 36 months.

Nick Ross, for Evans, said his client had reflected on his offending behaviour and concluded he was “not very good at burglary as he keeps getting caught”.

Miss Brocklebank, for Wynne, said the defendant’s mother had died shortly before the burglary and he had returned to drug use. He was remorseful and had, while in prison, undertaken several courses to improve his future prospects.