A HOUSE burglar caught red-handed sorting through his stash of stolen jewellery and designer watches in a park has been jailed for 27 months.

Mark Wood was spotted by a dog walker dipping into a large shopping bag of property raided from an address in Oakworth, Keighley, on the morning of March 13.

Wood, 22, of no fixed address, was examining his haul of "branded luxury items" ransacked from the unoccupied house, prosecutor Andrew Horton told Bradford Crown Court yesterday.

He ran off, leaving many of his ill-gotten gains behind, but he had been captured on CCTV from a neighbouring house and he was later identified by the dog walker.

Wood told the arresting police officer he was "talking sh**" but pleaded guilty to burglary on his first appearance at the crown court.

He had 23 previous convictions for 36 offences, most of them charges of dishonesty, Mr Horton said.

Wood's barrister Nigel Jamieson said he knew he was going to prison and believed he deserved to be locked up.

Wood realised how serious the offence was and apologised to the woman householder.

He was brought up in care and had been regularly sent to custody since he was 15.

Wood used a garden tool found at the house to prise open a window to get in.

"He did not go tooled up, as it were," Mr Jamieson said.

Wood hoped to get settled accommodation, with the help of the probation service, on his release.

Judge Jonathan Durham Hall QC told Wood: "You are turning into a very prolific and persistent offender, if you are not already."

Wood had served previous sentences of 21 months for burglary and 18 months and 12 months for attempted burglary.

The woman occupant of the Oakworth property was "shocked, distraught and traumatised" to discover her home had been burgled when she arrived home in the afternoon.

She ran from the house, fearing the intruder was still on the premises, and now feared to leave her home unoccupied.

"It has had a very grievous impact on her," Judge Durham Hall said.