A PROLIFIC burglar who targeted empty Bromsgrove houses, including one whose owner had recently died, has been jailed.

Martin Gwynne, 41, of Oak Road, was handed a 30-month prison sentence at Worcester Crown Court yesterday, (September 2), after admitting the latest in a long line of burglaries.

The court heard that between July 19 and July 26, Gwynne used an axe to smash his way through the front door of a house in Stourbridge Road.

He then ransacked the house, taking a large number of items out of the property and into the garden.

When the homeowner returned he found the mess and was confronted by a man who said he had been asked to collect some items.

He sent him away immediately, but the resident reported a number of things including a bike and various ornaments had been stolen.

Prosecutor Brett Wilson told the court a man who worked nearby had informed police he had seen two men loading a haul into a car at the front of the house.

Gwynne also asked the court to take another burglary into account, committed just days beforehand at a house in Churchfields.

On that occasion the grieving son of a woman who had died in April was visiting his mother's former house - which was to be auctioned off - when he discovered Gwynne sat on the floor in the living room area.

While he did not think anything was missing, a number of electrical items had been piled up by the door as if ready to go and a window had been smashed to get in.

The court heard Gwynne had 17 convictions on his record for a total of 40 offences, including a number for burglary.

William Rickarby, defending, said Gwynne was addicted to Class A drugs and despite numerous attempts to get clean, he had repeatedly relapsed.

He said Gwynne had targeted the properties as they had been empty and vulnerable.

Judge Robert Juckes QC told Gwynne: "It is not an exaggeration to describe you as a prolific burglar.

"You have burgled many houses in your time and when you are subject to a compulsion to use drugs, that is what you turn to in order to get money for that."