Cartier watch found at Leeds house burglar's home after £20,000 Elland Road raid

Nathan O'Shea used a brick to smash rear patio doors at the house while the householder was out at work, Leeds Crown Court heard.

O'Shea, 28, ransacked the house and stole jewellery including an engagement ring and watches and bracelets worth a total of between £15,000 and £20,000.

The court heard some of the jewellery had been received as gifts for occasions including birthdays.

Prosecutor Caroline Abraham, said DNA evidence at the house led police to O'Shea and a Cartier watch stolen in the raid was was found at his address.

O'Shea, of Marley Street, Cross Flatts, Beeston, Leeds, admitted burglary.

Miss Abraham said the householder had left the house to go to work at 8am on October 1 2019.

A neighbour called him at 1.15pm to say he had been the victim of a burglary.

The man returned home to find the patio door had been smashed using a brick.

Miss Abraham said: "The rooms upstairs were described as being ransacked. "

O'Shea has 11 previous convictions for 24 offences.

He was convicted of a total of five burglaries in 2009, one in 2010 and six in 2017.

He was jailed for four years for the 2017 burglaries and was out of prison on licence when he committed the latest offence.

Safter Salam, mitigating, said O'Shea had successfully completed the first year of an Open University course, but would not be able to continue studying following his latest conviction.

Jailing O'Shea for two-years-and-ten-months, Judge Simon Batiste told him: "You have a terrible record for offences of dishonesty and particularly for offences of domestic house burglary."

Judge Batiste added "It cannot be underestimated the impact that offences of this type have on victims.