A BURGLAR with 51 previous convictions was jailed for two years yesterday for two burglaries.

One burglary was at a card and stationery store while the second was at a furnishing shop where a boarded-up window was removed.

Sean Dagger, famously pictured on the front page of the BEN trying to break into a car, was traced to the two break-ins by fingerprints left at the scene.

When police arrested him for the burglaries on both occasions he gave no comment interviews.

Yesterday Dagger, aged 27, of Gloucester Street, Bolton, appeared at Bolton Crown Court for sentence for two burglaries.

Prosecutor Alaric Bassano said the first break-in occurred at Birthdays, a card and stationery store in Hotel Street, in Bolton town centre, on September 1.

Smashed

Dagger smashed the front window and once inside he stole pens and a cassette recorder and player but said he didn't take anything else as there was nothing worth stealing.

Police found his fingerprints at the scene and arrested him on October 3 but in interview he made no replies to any of the questions he was asked.

On September 23, before he was arrested for the first burglary, he had also removed a board covering a smashed window at Russell Furnishing Home Textiles store in Oxford Street in Bolton.

The window had been smashed the previous day and when the alarm sounded police once again found his fingerprints at the scene.

He was arrested on October 23 for the last break-in but again he gave a no comment interview.

The court heard that of his 51 previous appearances in court 27 were for dishonesty and four of the rest were for burglary offences.

Judge John Roberts jailed Dagger for two years.