Jailed: Telford burglar took 'everything worthwhile' from family house

Jobless Stephen Corbett's haul from the house in Telford included irreplaceable jewellery belonging to the householder's late mother and a collection of historic coins.

The intruder broke in to the four-bedroom detached house in Priorslee through a rear kitchen window when the owners were out, Stafford Crown Court heard.

When the wife of the owner came back, she found her cats outside, taps left running, personal belongings scattered around – and a long list of valuable items missing, said Mr Mohammad Hafeez, prosecuting, told Stafford Crown Court.

That list included antique jewellery, a wedding ring, laptop computer, camera, iPhone, cash and the coin collection. The total value came to £16,859.

However, the burglar left a glove mark on the kitchen window and a police forensic expert was able to get a DNA sample from it which matched the defendant's.

Corbett, 32, of Berberis Road, Leegomery,admitted a charge of burglary, committed on November 17 last year, and on Thursday he was jailed for 27 months.

Judge Jonathan Gosling told him: "Some people think daytime burglaries are less serious because occupiers won't be at home, but that is in danger of diminishing the effect when a householder comes home to find a house turned upside down, in this case ransacked, cats left out in the garden, taps running, important documents trampled on and every single piece of jewellery that has ever meant anything has gone for ever. The loss to her is incalculable and the value of it is just a figure.

"She will discover that you have targeted homes in the past. And she is worried...that her household may have been targeted, stripping the place of everything worthwhile. You almost certainly don't have any care about that. You have pleaded guilty not out of remorse but because of the overwhelming evidence."

In a victim impact statement the householder said her mother died 12 months ago and her jewellery was passed to members of the family. "Burglars don't care about my belongings. It was heartbreaking watching my mum's photograph being dusted for fingerprints," she said.

Some of the stolen jewels were the first gifts given to her mother and the coins were "the history of my family".

A camera stolen from the house was later sold to a pawn shop in Telford by another man who has been charged with handling stolen goods.

Police arrested Corbett on 1 December, when he answered no comment to questions. The court heard that at the time of this burglary, the defendant was on bail suspected of attempted burglary of other premises.

Mr Philip Climo, defending, said Corbett had been made redundant from his job laying road materials eight months before the break-in.

He said Corbett had been struggling with depression.