A house burglar has been jailed for 16 months after the judge told him he had “absolutely no understanding at all” of the impact of such crimes on their victims.

Mark Nero, with nine burglaries or attempted burglaries on his record, tried the back door at one property before forcing his way into the address next door and making off with more than £1,000 worth of property.

Nero, who had taken Valium and alcohol, claimed to have no recollection of the break-in, Bradford Crown Court heard today.

Nero, 47, of Boltby Lane, Buttershaw, Bradford, pleaded guilty to burglary and attempted burglary on Au-gust 16 last year.

Prosecutor Emma Downing said that he was seen walking up and down the drives of neighbouring homes on Ramsgill Close in Buttershaw at around 6.30am.

He wrapped his sleeve around his hand before trying the back door at one house.

Minutes later, he had forced his way in through a window at the home next door, Miss Downing said.

He made off with three phones, a bank card and a Samsung tablet worth more than £1,000, leaving mud-dy footprints on the carpet.

Nero was arrested on September 10 after he had been caught on CCTV when he committed the burglary.

His home was searched and the stolen tablet was found but the rest of the property was never recovered.

He had 15 previous convictions for 25 offences, most for dishonesty matters, and had come within days of being a “third strike” housebreaker.

Both the properties were occupied by sleeping householders.

The woman whose house Nero broke into said she felt so insecure she was moving to a new address. She now ran into her home at night and was afraid to sit downstairs on her own after dark.

Nero’s solicitor advocate, John Bottomley, said his client had stayed out of trouble for 17 years. The de-clining health of his parents had affected him emotionally and he had turned to Valium and alcohol.

He had been his mother’s carer until she went into a home.

Mr Bottomley urged the judge, Recorder Darren Preston, to suspend the inevitable custodial sentence.

But the recorder said that people were entitled to feel safe in their homes without Nero and others like him helping themselves to their belongings.

He had a bad record and the burgled woman was moving home after the break-in.

“You have absolutely no understanding at all of the impact on your victims,” Recorder Preston said.

Nero was jailed for 16 months for the burglary with four months to run concurrently for the attempted burglary.