Blackpool house burglar Grant Durnion is jailed under mandatory 'three strike' rule after £15k raid

The haul was among £15,000 of possessions Grant Durnion, 28, stole from the man's home in Ashton Road, Blackpool, on November 7 - none of which have been recovered.

He had only been released on licence from a 22 month term for burglary a few months earlier, but by the end of November had burgled five homes, after relapsing into drug addiction, Burnley Crown Court heard.

Durnion, of Grasmere Road, Blackpool, pleaded guilty to one burglary and had four others taken into consideration by Judge David Potter, who was told he has 62 offences on his record.

Prosecuting, Rachel Woods said the homeowner had gone to stay with a friend overnight but returned home to find his TV was missing.

She said: " He initially thought a friend of his who had been looking after his property may have been in, but then realised his TV was missing and as he made a search for his property it was apparent he had been burgled.

"The burglar had taken property from each of the rooms."

She described how the intruder had forced and broken a latch on a downstairs window to gain access, and Durnion's fingerprints were retrieved from the scene.

The victim's workbag had been emptied, and cash and cigarettes were taken from the lounge.

Not content with cash and expensive jewellery and electricals, Durnion even stole a crockery set from the kitchen, and hair clippers and aftershave from the bathroom.

Defending, Anthony Parkinson said Durnion relapsed into drugs in October 2020, adding: " "He lives a chaotic lifestyle as a result of a life that has so far been plagued with problems from the misuse of class A drugs."

Judge Potter ruled he fell foul of the 'three strike rule' - a mandatory sentence of three years for repeat burglary offenders - and imposed two years and four months after taking his plea into account.

Referring to the man's property, said: "I can only infer it had been sold for a fraction of its true worth to fund your drug addiction."

In a victim statement the man said he had been left unsettled, uneasy and annoyed.

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