A MAN who stole food clothes and letters from his teenage ex-partner’s house in Weymouth has been jailed.

Liam Newman, 19 of Westwey Road, Weymouth, pleaded guilty at Dorchester Crown Court to burglary and breaching a restraining order in an incident on December 4.

Timothy Bradbury, prosecuting, told how Newman entered a house on West Bay Crescent in Weymouth and stole food, morphine tablets and jogging bottoms worth £50. Letters from the defendant to his ex-partner, who lived at the address, were also taken.

Newman had been in a relationship with the household owner’s 17-year-old daughter which had ended at the time of the offence, the court was told.

The family had also taken out a restraining order against the defendant, which had ended earlier that year in June 2014.

On December 4, the household owner left the house with his two children for the day and did not return until approximately 4pm.

Upon his return he found the rear gate open, back door unlocked and saw an untidy search of the property had been conducted.

Timothy Bradbury, prosecuting, said: “Later that day the defendant arrived at his father’s house on Portland carrying a bag of food and other items from the house.

“He seemed agitated and a domestic situation arose in which the police were called to the property.

“The defendant was then arrested and items from the burglary were discovered by police.”

In police interview, Newman originally denied the offence and claimed he had bought the items.

In a victim statement, the household owner said he was left sleep deprived and anxious about household security. He said he now continuously locks windows and doors as a result of the burglary.

He said the burglary had significantly set him back from recovering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder after a career in the armed forces. He said he needed to start his recovery ‘all over again’.

Lee Christmas, mitigating, said the defendant was immature but had not offended at all until last year.

He said Newman treated his ex-partner’s house very much as his own and suffered from the breakdown of his first serious relationship.

Mr Christmas said Newman admits he handled the situation badly and has since found his time in police custody difficult.

Newman was sentenced to 12 months in prison.