A CAREER burglar is today back where he knows best – behind bars.

This time John Maycock was handed a four-year term after targeting two houses in the same road in Southampton.

It was about 4pm on June 19 when officers were called to a house in Rockstone Place where the front door had been damaged.

But then they discovered a pane of glass in another front door nearby had been shattered, and when they entered, they found the 59-year-old recidivist there.

Maycock was arrested and found with a stolen pair of earrings. When questioned, he admitted what he had done.

Maycock, of no fixed abode, admitted burglary and attempted burglary.

Prosecutor Hannah Squire told Winchester Crown Court he had 16 previous convictions for burglary and in 2006 he had been jailed for almost seven years. He was on licence when he burgled the two Southampton houses and was recalled to prison, with an expected release date in early 2015.

Passing sentence, Judge Jane Miller QC told Maycock he was a lifelong burglar.

The court heard he was an alcoholic and that he hoped to get treatment for his addiction when released.