A HOMELESS drug addict who used an axe to force his way into supported housing for students with health problems has been locked up for two years and four months.

Ronald Horvath attacked the accommodation in Great Horton, Bradford, four times in four days, breaking in twice and attempting to kick down a door on two occasions.

He was sleeping rough close to the property that was home to five students, prosecutor Philip Adams told Bradford Crown Court.

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Horvath, 20, of no fixed address, first struck on December 8, gaining entry to the house in the daytime by forcing window bars with an axe. He stole a laptop computer, a phone, bank cards and a rucksack, together valued at £1,100, from the kitchen.

Mr Adams said they belonged to an overseas student with multiple sclerosis. She was in the house at the time of the burglary and her stolen computer had important coursework on it.

Horvath was back the following day at 9.22pm. He tried to break in through a rear door using a screwdriver before kicking at it, leaving his footmark behind as evidence.

On December 10, he returned in the early hours to force his way through a barred window and make off with two laptops worth £800 from the office.

His fourth visit, at mid-morning the following day, was another unsuccessful attempt to kick down a back door. He was disturbed by a support worker and chased away.

Mr Adams said Horvath caused £4,000 damage to the building over the four days.

He left the axe with his DNA on it at the burglary scene and wore the same distinctive clothing when the raids were caught on CCTV. Horvath was arrested from a nearby squat with stolen bank cards on him.

The court heard that some of the resident students were so frightened by his crime spree that they were thinking of moving out. Horvath pleaded guilty to two burglaries and two attempted burglaries.

His barrister, Andrew Semple, said he became hooked on heroin after taking cannabis.

His addiction overwhelmed him and he burgled the house because it was close to where he was sleeping rough.

He was no longer addicted to drugs, the court heard.

Judge Jonathan Rose sentenced Horvath to two years in a young offender institution, with four months consecutive for breaching a community order imposed for burglary.

Judge Rose conceded that Horvath did not know there were vulnerable people living in the house but told him: “You must take your victims as you find them.”