Burglar jailed

A Failsworth burglar who took a mobile phone and computer from a woman’s bedside as she slept has been jailed for 10 months.

The victim awoke the next morning to the horror of finding an intruder had been in the bedroom of her Burnley flat.

Michael Longworth (27) of Old Road - but homeless at the time - struck twice more in the town, taking another woman’s laptop and phone from her home and a man’s mobile phone, Burnley Crown Court heard.

Longworth, who has 32 previous convictions, admitted burglary and asked for two other offences to be considered.

The hearing was told principal victim Joanne Harris suffered from anxiety and the invasion of her home had made things worse.

Police arrested Longworth in relation to something else and a search led to the recovery of a rucksack with the stolen items in it.

Nick Dearing, defending, said Longworth is an “immature and naive” man whose time in prison had probably already had a major effect on him.

Judge Cornwall warned Longworth: “Be under no illusions, longer and longer sentences will be the consequences of any future burglaries.”