A burglar has been sent back to prison after stealing £3,500 worth of goods from a student house.

Jamie Stevenson from Morant Road, Colchester, was convicted of burglary by the town's magistrates in February, and was sentenced at Chelmsford Crown Court on Wednesday.

He asked for two other charges to be taken into consideration and was sentenced to 18 months in jail.

The court heard that the 25-year-old forced open a window at the house in Wimpole Road on Christmas Eve and stole a television and video.

After dumping the goods in an allotment, he returned to the house and stole compact discs and a portable CD player which he took back to his flat.

Mark Roochove, prosecuting, said Stevenson went back to the allotment a couple of days later to retrieve the television and video, but found that they had gone.

He then went back to the empty student house and took a vacuum cleaner and more CDs.

Richard Kelly, mitigating, said that Stevenson's string of previous convictions were due to a long-standing drug habit which he had finally managed to kick during a long spell in prison.

He said: "This is a man who has had a very unhappy life. While he was in prison he took steps to kick his drug habit, but when he was released there was a void.

"He had difficulties coming to terms with his release and he became an outsider to his family. Employment was difficult for him to find and he became depressed."

Mr Kelly added after Stevenson heard a man he had befriended in jail had committed suicide, he briefly returned to his old ways.

"He feels ashamed for what he has done. He is an intelligent man and this is a sad state of affairs for him," he said.

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