A serial burglar who posed as a Council worker to steal £500 from an 85-year-old man has been jailed for two years and five months.

David Cargin asked his victim for a cup of tea before making off with an envelope containing the cash he had saved to pay his household bills, Bradford Crown Court heard on Tuesday.

Cargin, 47, of Lyme Cross Road, Huyton, Merseyside, was arrested by the police after leaving his DNA on a cup at the pensioner’s flat in Hipperholme on June 20.

He pleaded guilty to burglary and was sentenced on a video link to Leeds Prison.

Prosecutor Nick Askins said the elderly man was upset and cross with himself for being ‘taken in’ by Cargin.

The court heard that Cargin was bitterly disappointed with himself. He stole the money to help his son pay off a debt.

He had a long list of previous convictions for house breaking and had served several substantial prison sentences.

Judge Neil Davey QC said it was a mean sneak-in burglary by Cargin who pretended to be helping the old man.