A convicted house burglar who was caught stealing property from an elderly resident’s room at a care home has been jailed for more than two years.

Batley man Christian Healey was in the process of filling a laundry bag with various items including clothes, toiletries and books when a member of staff at the Sunnyside Care Home in Oxford Road, Dewsbury, walked into the resident’s room just after midnight.

Prosecutor Michael Smith told Bradford Crown Court that the complainant, a man in his 80s who suffered from dementia, was not in his room at the time of the burglary and although Healey escaped via the window, the bag containing the stolen property was later recovered.

Healey, 37, of North Bank Road, was arrested near to the care home when police arrived and he confessed to carrying out the burglary during his interview.

Today Healey admitted burgling the care home on May 2 and Mr Smith revealed that the defendant had been given prison sentences in 1999, 2001 and 2005 for house burglary.

Healey’s previous convictions in 2001 and 2005 meant he was now classed as a “three strikes” burglar and the Recorder of Bradford Judge Roger Thomas QC said he had to impose the minimum jail term of three years.

But Healey’s early guilty plea meant he was entitled a 20% discount on that sentence and he was instead jailed for 876 days - around two years and five months.

Healey told police that he had taken diazepam before committing the offence and his memory of that night wasn’t very good, but Judge Thomas it must have been obvious to him that the property was a care home.

Judge Thomas said the burglary was a “very mean” offence and Healey had effectively been caught red-handed.