A BOURNEMOUTH man has been sentenced to two and a half years in prison after pleading guilty to burgling a student house in Charminster.

Gareth Picton, 34, of no fixed abode, was sentenced at Bournemouth Crown Court after the court heard how he smashed his way into a home in Stewart Road and stole £3,000 worth of items.

Detective Andrew Burley of Dorset Police's Priority Crime Team said: "Burglary crime can have a huge impact on victims and is taken very seriously in Dorset.

"I hope this sentence handed out by the courts sends out a very strong message that anyone committing burglary offences will be arrested and dealt with robustly by the courts."

The break-in happened on Friday, March 20, when Picton stole items including three laptops, a Canon camera, watch and jewellery.

Picton was arrested on April 1 after crime scene investigators carried out a forensic search at the house and found a fingerprint on the back of a jewellery box drawer removed by the offender from a display cabinet. Further testing was carried out and the fingerprint was linked to Picton.