Burglar jailed.

Byline: Gareth Lightfoot

A heroin-addicted burglar who broke into a woman's house while she and her grandsons slept has been jailed for three years.

Disabled Virginia Coleman's vital Motability car was taken and torched following the burglary on February 28.

Teesside Crown Court heard how the 52-year-old householder was upset by the invasion of her home on Ashdown Way, Billingham.

Her grandsons, aged nine and 11, who both have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, had trouble sleeping afterwards, said prosecutor Anthony Dunn yesterday.

She awoke to find her kitchen window had been forced open. Cash, cards, a handbag and mobile phone were missing.

Also gone was her Kia car, which was later found burned out on wasteland at the rear of Huntsman in Port Clarence.

Mrs Coleman, who suffers from arthritis, told the Gazette at the time that the vehicle, delivered just days before the burglary, was a "lifeline" for her and her grandchildren.

She said: "It's my freedom and it means I don't have to rely on other people. I wish I could ask them why they picked on me. It's not as if I am filthy rich."

A partial footwear print led the police to Mark Chesney, 24, an offender previously locked up three times for burglary.

Chesney, of Bannockburn Way, Billingham, admitted the burglary, but was not charged with taking the car. The police believed other males were involved in this.

He also admitted a burglary from a block of flats on Melsonby Court, Low Grange Avenue, Billingham. He stole a security guard's mobile phone and handheld personal data assistant from a kitchen.

Paul Cleasby, defending, said: "The root of his offending is his long-term heroin addiction.

"He is a young man who is desperate for help."

Chesney had kept out of trouble for two years but committed the burglaries after relapsing into his drug habit. He now showed remorse and had completed a drugs support programme.

Judge David Bryant read an eight-page "essay" penned by Chesney explaining how he ended up a criminal.

The judge gave him credit for guilty pleas at the earliest opportunity, and 96 days already spent in custody will count towards the sentence.