A BURGLAR has been jailed after breaking into his elderly neighbour’s house while the pensioner lay sick in hospital.

Ian Massey, from Burtonwood, was twice caught on CCTV burgling his next-door neighbour’s home.

Liverpool Crown Court heard today, November 1, that the 60-year-old first targeted the property on Action Road at around 5.30pm on Friday, September 6.

He climbed in through the kitchen window and searched through cupboards and drawers before stealing butter and a bottle of Fanta from the fridge before leaving.

Shortly before midnight, Massey entered the house again and began to search the address.

But unbeknown to him, the homeowner’s daughter had recently installed motion-activated CCTV cameras – which sent a notification to her phone seconds after he had broken into the property.

She checked the footage and saw Massey stood in the kitchen, at which point she was able to activate an alarm which caused him to flee the scene.

Upon checking her phone, she saw another message in relation to the earlier incident and reported what had happened to Cheshire Police.

Massey admitted two counts of burglary and was handed 30 months behind bars by judge Gary Woodhall.

Detective sergeant Tom Hall said: “To stoop so low as to burgle your own neighbour’s home while he lay helpless in hospital is despicable.

“Massey knew that his neighbour was unwell, but even that didn’t stop him from breaking into his home and stealing his property.

“During his interviews Massey attempted to divert the blame, claiming that he was the concerned neighbour.

“He told officers that he entered the house after hearing a loud bang and simply wanted to make sure his neighbour was ok – although how searching through his cupboards and stealing from his fridge has anything to do with being concerned for his safety is beyond belief.

“Thankfully, after hearing all the evidence gathered against him, Massey pleaded guilty to the charges brought against him and is now facing the consequences of his actions.”