Two men broke into a former nursing home to look for scrap to sell on to fund their drug addictions.

The derelict site on Oxford Road in Dewsbury was due to renovated when Steven Adams and Jonathan Johnson climbed inside.

They were caught trying to rip a boiler out of the kitchen by the project manager on Tuesday (Sept 12).

Adams, 33, of Cemetery Road in Dewsbury, and Johnson, 42, of Ouzelwell Road in Dewsbury, both pleaded guilty to burglary when they appeared at Kirklees Magistrates’ Court in custody.

Prosecutor Andy Wills explained that the former nursing home was in a state of disrepair but had been bought and was about to be renovated.

On September 7 there was a disturbance as somebody tried to take the boiler.

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The point of entry was boarded up but then Adams and Johnson returned to “finish off the job”, Mr Wills said.

They told police that they noticed the empty building and decided to go inside to look for scrap.

Adams had a £10 a day heroin habit while Johnson was addicted to crack cocaine and spent up to £20 a day on the drug.

Both men were ordered to undergo six months of drug rehabilitation as punishment.

Adams was also handed a curfew after admitting to an additional charge of stealing jars of coffee from Quality Save in Dewsbury