POLICE passing a house in Southampton late at night saw a man clambering out of a downstairs window.

Gurmit Rathore claimed that he had been visiting a friend in the Hill Lane property, but when officers checked his account, the occupier said he did not know him and he was then astonished to learn that he had been burgled.

Prosecutor Richard Willcox said that officers searched under nearby cars and recovered the burglary proceeds - a wallet containing about £20 plus cards, as well as a camera.

Rathore, 31, pictured, of Brintons Road, Southampton, admitted burglary and was jailed for three years.

Judge Jeremy Burford QC heard that it was Rathore's sixth burglary since 1997 and he was on licence at the time. He said: "Householders must be protected from persistent burglars."

Natalie Wood, mitigating at the city crown court, said that Rathore's dishonesty was underpinned by his addiction to drink and crack cocaine.

He had been drinking that night and the burglary had been opportunistic.

She said: "The occupier wasn't disturbed and the offence was committed on impulse."

The judge ordered Rathore to serve 100 days outstanding from his previous prison sentence before starting his new term.