A CAREER burglar is back in jail after raiding 10 homes in Accrington and Burnley weeks after he was freed from prison.

Drug addict Mark Hollins, 31, had 108 previous convictions and was on licence when he went on the spree around April, Burnley Crown Court heard.

The defendant, admitted two burglaries and asked for 12 offences - eight of them burglaries and four thefts from vehicles - to be considered.

Hollins, from Burnley, but more recently of Stanley Street, Oswaldtwistle, had recently been recalled on licence from his last jail term. He was sent back to prison for three years.

Sarah Statham, prosecuting, told the court a victim in Meadoway, Church, went to work on April 7.

About lunchtime, Hollins stole tools and a valuable antique watch from the property.

A next-door neighbour spotted the defendant leaving the house with a carrier bag and a bottle of milk from the fridge.

He saw Hollins discard the bottle and police later recovered it.

Miss Statham said officers arrested the defendant. He made no admissions and was given police bail.

The prosecutor said five days later, his next victim had gone out shopping, leaving her 13-year-old twins asleep in bed in Emma Street, Accrington.

When she came back minutes later, she found the property had been entered by an insecure front window and that a laptop had been taken.

Miss Statham said within days police had the results of forensic tests from the milk bottle and the defendant was re-arrested at a house in Randle Street, Burnley, where he was found hiding in an upstairs bedroom.

He was taken to the police station and interviewed, made full admissions to both burglaries and also held up his hand to the other offences.

Miss Statham said: "In April this year the defendant had been particularly busy burgling houses in the Accrington and Burnley areas."

The defendant, who had previously served jail terms, was on licence at the time, had been recalled and was due for release on October 12. Hollins had 12 previous convictions for house burglaries.

Richard Taylor, defending, said Hollins was realistic about his fate. He had been released from prison in January and during his sentence had been visited by the Tower Project, a police and the probation service programme.

He said his client had been told he would be housed by them and it was to his surprise and distress that when he was freed he wasn't given anywhere to live.

The defendant was very much on his own, having alienated his family through his drugs addiction.