A MALVERN man has been jailed after a raid on a town sports club, which netted equipment worth £7,000.

Kevin Parker, aged 24, broke into the Manor Park club but the registration numbers of two vehicles seen leaving the scene were noted and passed to the police.

Inquiries led to Parker's Moat Crescent home, where a £98 gas barbecue set belonging to the club was found.

A further search turned up more stolen property including a pair of pruners, power tools, edge trimmer, pressure washer and a motorcycle.

Parker admitted burglary and receiving stolen goods.

Prosecutor John Barnett said: "In a police interview, Parker said he was not bothered about handling stolen goods because it did not hurt anyone."

Charles Hamer, for Parker, said his life had deteriorated after a traffic accident six years ago which caused a brain injury. Parker suffered depression and attempted suicide.

Mr Hamer drew the court's attention to a recent Court of Appeal ruling, where Lord Chief Justice Woolf had laid down guidelines that first-time domestic burglars should be given community rather than custodial punishments.

He said: "This is not a domestic burglary, it is a commercial burglary, which most people would consider less serious."

However the bench ruled that Parker deserved imprisonment because the crime was so serious.

"You have shown no remorse and not all the goods have been recovered," the chairman said.

Parker was sentenced to 12 weeks for burglary and two four-week sentences for receiving, to be served concurrently.