A SERIAL burglar was repeatedly foiled by vigilant neighbours as he tried to break in to several homes to fund his drugs habit.

David Cox, of Arboretum Road, Worcester, is beginning a three-year spell behind bars after admitting two counts of burglary and one attempted burglary at Worcester Crown Court.

Judge Robert Juckes QC told him he had been left with "no choice" but to jail him immediately.

"Offences of burglary are amongst the most distressing for the people who suffer from them. It is not just the loss of property, it is the loss of their sense of security in their own home," he said.

"It is a sort of pollution – they no longer feel safe somewhere they want, and should be able, to feel safe."

Stephen Davies, prosecuting, told the court that Cox broke in to a flat in the Avenue, Welland, near Malvern, on May 2, and was disturbed by the owner, who returned home to find him in the lounge rummaging through his belongings.

He recognised Cox and police arrested him around two hours later.

While on bail for that burglary, on May 21, a neighbour spotted him acting suspiciously in the back garden of a house in Coxwell Drive, Malvern, and, when they went to confront him, Cox tried to trap the man in the garage of the house before making his escape.

Then, on June 6, a woman was walking past her neighbour's home in the town’s Spindle Road when she spotted Cox walking down the side path and trying the garage door.

She hurried to a friend's house and asked her son to take a picture of him to show police.

All three crimes also put 28-year-old Cox in breach of a 12-month suspended sentence imposed by the court in February for similar offences.

Jason Patel, defending, said since the suspended sentence had been imposed Cox had made "good steps" towards kicking his drug addiction, even returning negative test results.

However, as part of the rehabilitation, he had met people who were still using cocaine and it had caused the "blip" in his recovery.

Judge Juckes sentenced him to two years for the first burglary on May 2, and six months for the second burglary and the attempted burglary. This will be concurrent to one another but consecutive to the two years, he ruled.

In addition, Cox will serve six months of the suspended sentence, also to run consecutively. He will also have to pay a £120 victim surcharge.