Police want a review of a suspended prison sentence meted out to a prolific Bradford burglar after a judge told him: “I am going to take a chance with you.”

Prosecutor Alisha Kaye told Bradford Crown Court yesterday that 41-year-old Michael Coultous was “effectively a fourth-strike burglar”.

Miss Kaye said Coultous had convictions for burglary dating back to 1983. He was given an 18-month jail sentence in 2002 for four burglaries of dwellings, a 12-month sentence for burglary in 2005 and a community order for a non-dwelling burglary in March 2008.

Coultous, of Grantley House, Thorpe Edge, pleaded guilty to two house burglaries and handling stolen goods and asked for nine other offences of burglary or burglary with intent from houses to be taken into consideration.

Recorder Bryan Cox QC said Coultous had a hopeless record for offences of dishonesty and a poor record for burglaries.

But he told him he was impressed with what was said about him in a probation report, and particularly his hope that he could overcome his dependency on heroin, which was at the root of his offending.

The judge sentenced Coultous to 12 months’ imprisonment suspended for two years, with two years of supervision by probation and a requirement to attend a drug rehabilitation course.

Recorder Cox said it would give the defendant a final opportunity to overcome his addiction.

He told Coultous: “If you fail to comply with those requirements you will be brought back to court and any judge will see you have been given a very generous chance today.

“A judge will review it every month and will probably wonder what on earth I was doing giving you a chance today, because you are very fortunate.”

After the case a West Yorkshire Police spokesman said: “We have approached the prosecutor with the aim of having this sentence reviewed because we do not believe this sentence fits the crime due to the previous offending history of Coultous.”

The court heard that Coultous and another man, Kevin Gallagher, broke into a house in Old Road, Horton Bank Top, eight days before Christmas last year and stole presents valued at more than £1,800.

In May this year he, and 18-year-old Christopher Johnston, removed the lounge window of a house in Carlinghow Hill, Batley, and stole jewellery valued at £1,750 from a bedroom.

Gallagher, 31, of Deanstones Lane, Queensbury, admitted three charges of burglary and one of assaulting the landlord of a property, who gave chase after he had stolen items from a house in Farside Green, Little Horton.

He punched his victim, causing a two-inch cut to his eyebrow. Gallagher was in breach of a nine-month suspended sentence and was jailed for a total of three years.

Johnston pleaded guilty to the burglary in Batley, assaulting his girlfriend by punching and kicking her, and resisting arrest, and asked for 45 offences of burglary from dwellings to be taken into consideration. He was sentenced to two years in youth custody.

A fourth man, John Graham, 42, of Ringwood Road, Little Horton, who admitted handling stolen goods and possessing heroin and crack cocaine, was given six months’ imprisonment for each offence suspended for 12 months, with 12 months’ supervision.

Under the “three strikes” rule a defendant convicted a third time of burgling a home should be jailed for three years. This can be reduced by as much as one third for an early guilty plea or increased if there are relevant previous convictions.