A Redditch house burglar was trapped by a text message found on a mobile phone left at the crime scene, Worcester Crown Court heard.

Stephen Crowe, 23, was put to flight by a householder who found the phone attached to the raider's bike.

Police discovered a message saying 'Crowe I'm back - Ab' and went to a Redditch house where the defendant was found hiding in a loft, said prosecutor Richard Dewsbury.

A month later Crowe raided another home, stealing ornaments and a carriage clock.

Officers found ornament fragments at the same house where Crowe was holed up before.

Crowe, of Rushock Close, was jailed for two years after pleading guilty to two burglaries.

He first struck on June 18 when the householder returned to find his ski jacket on the floor and bottles of drink piled on top.

He heard a noise in his utility room and saw Crowe struggling to open the back door.

Crowe managed to escape through the garden but the victim grabbed him as he tried to get his bike from a fence.

Crowe broke free and got away with £180, leaving his bike and phone behind him.

In July, he raided a house in Oakenshaw.

Crowe, who said he found the ornaments in woods, had previous convictions for burglary and theft.

Gareth Walters, defending, said Crowe had been preoccupied with getting his daily supply of heroin and committed burglary to fund the habit.

He hoped to attend a college course when he was released from jail.

Recorder John Price told Crowe that his was a classic case of crime-funded drugs and the reason so many young people were locked up.

He congratulated the defendant on becoming drug-free while on remand but said only a custodial sentence could be passed for crimes which bring misery and pain to victims.

He advised Crowe to get all the drug rehabilitation help he could while serving the sentence and to start his education to make the time pass more quickly.