A MAN who stole £10,000 worth of jewellery and a laptop from a house in Woodfalls has been jailed.

Bradleigh Maine, 20, admitted using a stolen Ford Galaxy car on June 15 last year to drive to the home, before entering and stealing the valuables.

Salisbury Crown Court heard how neighbours raised the alarm after spotting Maine acting suspiciously with an accomplice.

After the alarm was raised through a media appeal, the pair were seen on the A338 throwing the stolen items out of the window.

Officers then gave chase with Maine eventually crashing into a concrete lamppost.

Maine, currently at HMP Winchester, has a long criminal history which includes 21 court appearances and more than 50 offences. It was the third time he was before the court on the charge of burglary.

The court heard how Maine had a troubled childhood after being excluded from school — becoming addicted to crack cocaine. But, he claimed to be “remorseful” for his actions and had hand written a letter for the judge.

Maine has spent the last eight months in prison and in that time he says he has worked to tackle his drug problems.

In jailing him for two years and five months Judge Andrew Barnett said burglaries cause great trauma to the victims.

He said: “You have stolen a car from Poole, filled it [with petrol] without paying and crashed that car. These offences are serious in themselves.

“What also makes the matter so serious is that at the age of 20 this is your third burglary — you are a three strike man.

“This category of crime is typical of the way that you have behaved in the past.”

Maine was also disqualified from driving for three years. An eight month sentence for stealing the car and a four month sentence for not paying for fuel will run concurrently with the burglary prison term.