A DESTITUTE man has been sent to prison after he broke into his mother's home to go to sleep.

Steven Lloyd, of no fixed abode, admitted criminal damage when he appeared at Flintshire Magistrates Court.

John Wylde, prosecuting, said 31-year-old Lloyd, who had failed to turn up for sentence on an earlier occasion, had initially arrived at his mother's Llay home on December 14, but was drunk and aggressive towards her.

Police attended, escorted him away, and took him to the railway station so he could return to his then address in Chester.

But in the early hours of the following day, police received a phone call from a neighbour to say there was a prowler.

Police arrived and found the patio door had been smashed.

Mr Wylde said 'The defendant was inside the house. He had gone inside to sleep and was found in one of the bedrooms where he was arrested.'

Interviewed, Lloyd told how the train had been cancelled, he had more drink, and returned to his mother's home for a sleep.

To make matters worse, Lloyd was on early release licence for an earlier offence at the time - and was given an extra three weeks because of that.

Defending, Rod Williams said Lloyd was a single man who had lost his temporary accommodation in Chester, and had difficulty getting local authority accommodation because of previous rent arrears.

He had serious, long-term problems with drink and drugs, which were directly linked to his offending.

Lloyd led a chaotic lifestyle and that was why he had previously failed to turn up in court or to attend an appointment with the probation service to prepare a pre-sentence report.

Magistrates sentenced Lloyd to 10 weeks in prison.