A 43-YEAR-old serial burglar has been jailed for three and a half years after his third strike.

Darren Thornton appeared before a judge at Bradford Crown Court and admitted a string of 13 offences, including multiple theft, burglary and fraud charges.

The court heard that Thornton was a drug addict and the spree took place over a week-long period between February 21 and March 1 during a relapse.

The first offence saw Thornton and another man steal a handbag from a car parked outside a house in Rowan Way in Northowram.

The two men made multiple contactless payments just under the £30 limit using two credit cards at Asda and a petrol station in Halifax to buy alcohol and cigarettes.

Thornton of Hunter Hill Road, Halifax, also broke into a house in Halifax and took car keys in order to steal the vehicle.

In sentencing Judge Colin Burn said Thornton had been in a "pretty desperate state".

He added that the theft of the motor vehicle was the most serious of the offences.

"You have got a bad record of offending, including domestic house burglaries," he added.

One of the 13 charges also related to being in possession of a lock knife, which he had with him during four of the offences.