A serial offender from Cardigan who entered a property in the centre of Tenby, simply to swipe beers from a fridge, whilst the owner was asleep upstairs, has been jailed.

Thirty-one-year-old Mark Brook who hails from Brynheulwen in Blaenannerch, had 17 previous convictions for 27 offences, Swansea Crown Court heard this month, when sentencing took place.

CCTV showed the defendant re-entering the property on Lower Frog Street, on three seperate occasions between 6am and 7.30am, on the date of April 21, last year.

Brook was arrested in Cardigan in July, and admitted ‘burglary as a trespasser with intent to steal’ when he previously appeared at Haverfordwest Magistrates Court back in January.

The prosecution told the court that the victim (who was still in bed, after her husband had left for work that morning) had reported feeling “terrified” and “vulnerable” after discovering that someone had entered their property.

CCTV footage showed the husband leaving his home shortly after 6am.

Brook was then seen walking past at 6.20am; and returned into shot four minutes later trying a neighbour’s door, before trying the victims’ door and disappearing inside, before reappearing holding a bottle of beer.

Shortly before 7am, he re-entered the property exiting shortly afterwards attempting to open a bottle of beer with his teeth.

Brook’s defence solicitor told the court that a psychiatric report concluded that the defendant’s offending and his behaviour was motivated in part by his use of ‘illicit substances and alcohol’.

When passing sentence, Judge Paul Thomas KC said the main issue wasn’t the financial value of the items stolen, but the distress caused to the ‘violated’ victims.

“The sentence I’m about to pass will hopefully give you an opportunity to get clean from those substances,” he stated.

The defendant was handed a 16 month sentence.