Burglar's double break-in costs Leeds city centre business and charity more than £18,000

Matthew Boddy blamed his descent into heroin addiction after his relationship broke down, culminating in the two break-ins and the brazen theft of a TV from a supermarket.

The 38-year-old walked into Asda on Old Lane in Beeston on November 8 last year with an accomplice, prosecutor Ben Whittingham told Leeds Crown Court.

The pair split up with Boddy making a beeline for the electrical items. He picked up the £180 television and walked out without attempting to pay. His accomplice, who was not named in court, tried to steal a similar value of meat.

Eleven days later, Boddy snapped the lock of the Studio 77 barber shop on Raglan Road, Woodhouse and forced his way inside during daylight hours on a Sunday afternoon. He grabbed £3,140 worth of items including equipment, products and a sound system. However, he left finger prints at the scene.

But before he could be arrested, on December 27 last year he forced entry via the front doors of the Leeds Culture Trust on Brewery Place. He got away with more than £15,000 worth of items, including 15 laptops, 10 MacBooks, 11 iPads, iPhones and Android phones. Again, forensic evidence linked him to the scene after he conducted an "untidy search".

He was arrested on January 11, and then gave no comments during his police interview. None of the stolen items were recovered. He admitted two non-dwelling burglaries and a theft.

Boddy, of Brudenell Grove, Hyde Park, was held on remand and appeared in court via video link from HMP Doncaster. He has 14 previous convictions for 45 offences.

Mitigating, Philip Morris said: "Matters have been going down hill for him for the last four or five years as a result of the break up of his relationship. The poison appears to be his misuse of drugs. All offences were committed with that in mind."

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He said Boddy was now on a methadone prescription behind bars and said he "appears to be well motivated" to break his addiction.

Judge Tahir Khan KC told him that that his crimes were "clearly planned" and that there was "no getting away" from his lengthy record. He jailed him for 22 months.