A BURGLAR who took two cars, a wallet and purses in an overnight spree has been jailed for three years.

Geoffrey Albert Hicks, formerly of Hope Street off Walmgate in York, entered three properties in the Haxby Road area over one night in May, then took a Mini Cooper and a high value Volkswagen car, which has never been recovered.

The court heard Hicks, 47, had also recently come to blows with the owner of a stolen bike in the lead up to the burglaries, but he denied the theft of the bicycle.

Robert Galley, prosecuting, said Hicks had entered two homes in the dead of night and stolen car keys and wallets, had also broken into a garage where he had left tools and removed others which were found nearby.

He said Hicks' DNA was found on a drinks bottle in the stolen Mini, and a shoe print matching Hicks' footwear was found on the shutter door of the garage. When officers searched Hicks' home, they also found the keys to the Mini, which Hicks later told police he had found.

Hicks eventually pleaded guilty to handling stolen goods, the three burglaries, taking the Mini without consent and theft of the Volkswagen.

Amanda Johnson, for Hicks, said he had struggled in recent years with depression, after the death of his 12-year-old son in 2008 from an epileptic fit, and from his mother's death last year.

She said: "In a fairly short space of time his life had in effect spiralled out of control. He moved to live with his father, and in his own words, felt like he was having a nervous breakdown."

The court heard the arrests for these robberies were Hicks' 'third strike', and part of a lengthy history of offending, which meant a prison sentence was inevitable.

Recorder Nicholas Lumley QC told Hicks "if anything, handling stolen goods is more serious than stealing them in the first place", and said York "has a particular problem with bikes being stolen".

He also told Hicks "the court cannot help but be moved by your personal circumstances", but "the offence took place at night and there was an obvious risk of confrontation, the householders could have come downstairs having heard a noise, and who knows what you might have done".

Hicks could have received up to two years of each of the burglaries, but was jailed for a total of three years and ordered to pay a victim surcharge and court charges.