A BURGLAR woke up the owner of the house he was ransacking and asked him to play computer games with him.

Mark Dimelow, 27, of Weaver Crescent, Frodsham, stole two mobile phones, £40 cash and van keys from John Redding’s house on Peartree Close, Frodsham, on October 1.

This week the prolific offender who has a drug addiction was jailed for three years at Chester Crown Court.

Prosecutor Peter Frost said: “The owner was awoken at 11pm by the presence of the defendant in the bedroom.

“The defendant said to him: ‘Hey mate, come down here, we’ve just been playing on your computer.’

“He appeared to be gesticulating with his thumbs as if playing a computer game.”

Mr Redding went to his garage and found Dimelow alongside his Transit van. He took hold of him and demanded to know what he had stolen but Dimelow freed himself and fled.

Mr Redding’s son’s bedroom had been disturbed with items strewn across the floor, the computer console moved and the TV switched on.

Two mobiles, three sets of Ford Transit keys and £40 belonging to his son were missing.

Mr Redding later found two vehicle keys and three syringes in the entry of his home.

A palm print in the kitchen and blood found on the syringes were both matched to Dimelow.

In March last year, Dimelow was jailed for two years for 10 charges of theft from a vehicle but was released halfway through that sentence.

Edward Moss, defending, said: “His girlfriend lived on the same street, it was a matter of impulse. On the night in question he’d consumed a litre of vodka and 10 sleeping tablets but doesn’t recall the syringes.

“Clearly drugs are the bane of his life. It’s a vicious cycle: drugs, crime, drugs, crime. He fully accepts the distress that must have been caused to this man and he realises at some point he needs to break the cycle.”

Sentencing Dimelow to three years in prison, Judge Roger Dutton said: “For the occupant it must have been a most disturbing and distressing experience to find somebody in your own home when you and your family have gone to bed.”

Western Rural Inspector Phil Hodgson said: “He is a prolific offender whom we have monitored closely. This sentence is wholly reflective of the scale of this man’s offending.”