A ‘professional burglar’ was foiled after leaving a cigarette end in the kitchen sink of a Weymouth house he targeted.

John Pearce, 39, of Rodwell Road, Weymouth, appeared at Dorchester Crown Court where he admitted committing a burglary at a house on the same street between December 4 and December 12 last year.

Timothy Bradbury, prosecuting, said the targeted house was unoccupied at the time and Pearce committed the burglary when he was on bail for a previous offence.

A relative of the house occupier discovered the burglary when they visited the house on December 11 and found the front door had been locked from inside. The kitchen window was also open and the patio door had been lifted off its hinges by use of a screwdriver.

An untidy search had been carried out in all rooms of the house and items taken included a bottle of brandy, a fur coat and a DVD player, the court was told.

Mr Bradbury said Pearce’s fingerprint DNA was recovered from a cigarette end he had left in the kitchen sink, and Pearce was arrested on December 30.

He added that the defendant was ‘heavily convicted’ with 14 dwelling burglaries to his name since March 1993.

Mr Bradbury said: “These previous convictions suggest the defendant is a professional burglar.”

Lee Christmas, mitigating, said the burglary was ‘opportunistic’ and Pearce had to accept he was someone with previous history in relation to burglaries.

He said Pearce struggled with a drug addiction to cocaine and heroin and at the time of the offence had been out of prison for two years.

Mr Christmas added: “My client acknowledges that in carrying out this burglary he has let himself down and all his family down, who were just trying to help him.

“He does feel motivated to deal with his addictions and shows genuine remorse at carrying out the offence.”

Recorder Vasanti Selveratnam QC handed Pearce a prison sentence of 867 days – a total of 28 months.

The defendant’s previous community order also was ordered to be revoked.