Burglar targeted Leeds students using their stolen bank cards around Hyde Park

John Turner, who is 50, broke into one home and was then spotted on shop CCTV using stolen bank cards from other burglaries.

The homeless drug addict was jailed for four years at Leeds Crown Court this week.

It was heard that a man was first seen breaking into a business on Brudenell Road on August 25 last year to steal £6,000 worth of power tools, before Turner arrived to help him.

Two days later, Turner let himself into a student house via an unlocked front door on Royal Park Road and stole a Playstation and a bottle of aftershave. The occupants were home at the time but did not hear him enter. He was later identified on the doorbell camera.

The next day he used a bank card in Sainsbury's that was stolen during another dwelling burglary, spending more than £72. He then spent £157 in various stores in the Hyde Park area on August 30 from yet another house burglary committed hours before.

He was arrested a week later and gave a no-comment interview. He eventually admitted one of the burglaries, two counts of fraud and one of handling stolen goods, which was accepted by the Crown.

He has 49 offences to his name dating back to 1992, having received several jail sentences. In 2015 he was jailed for eight years for robbery.

Mitigating, Zarreen Alam-Cheetham said the latest offences were committed "on impulse".

She said he was homeless and turned back to hard drugs, including heroin and cocaine which was the "catalyst" for his offending.

Get the latest headlines, straight to your inbox, with YEP’s free emails

She said he suffers from cellulitis and is often left unable to walk or move, which has led to him gaining weight. She added: "He tells me he is tired of spending his life in and out of prison at his age."

Jailing him, Judge Richard Mansell KC said: "You have an appalling record starting as long ago as 1992."