Halifax burglar claimed he was looking for a man who was giving kittens away

After being caught in one house on Long Lover Lane, Pellon, Halifax, Dalibor Rybar tried to cover up his crime by saying that he had been looking for a man who was supposed to be giving away some kittens.

Bradford Crown Court heard how the 21-year-old was escorted out of that house, but within minutes he was seen leaving another home just a few doors along the road.

Prosecutor Heather Gilmore said Rybar had gone into the kitchen of the second home and stolen a mobile phone worth £300 which had been charging up.

At the first property Rybar left behind a pair of sunglasses with his fingerprints on them, but nothing had been stolen.

The court heard that Rybar was arrested from his home in Albert Gardens, Halifax, following the two sneak-in burglaries on the afternoon of May 18.

Rybar admitted the two burglary offences when he appeared at court via a video link to Leeds prison and he asked to be sentenced immediately without the need for a pre-sentence report.

Judge John Potter was told that Rybar, who had been addicted to heroin and cocaine, had been locked up twice before for house burglary offences and the latest crimes meant he faced a minimum jail term of three years.

The judge told him via the video link that his early guilty pleas meant he could reduce to prison term to a total of 876 days.

Judge Potter said he accepted that Rybar had been suffering from difficulties with drugs but that was absolutely no excuse for his behaviour.