A prolific criminal who stole from a friend of his grandmother has been jailed.

Dean Higgins, 33, had been a previous visitor to the house at Wigton Road, in Carlisle, that he sneaked into on December 17 last year.

Higgins snatched the phone but was seen by the man inside as he tried to flee.

He was sentenced at Carlisle Crown Court today having admitted burglary.

Judge Barbara Forrester said Higgins had a "dreadful" criminal record which featured 117 offences - including two previous break-ins.

She stopped short of imposing the mandatory three-year prison sentence usually handed down to "three-strike" burglars, saying it would be "unjust" to do so.

However, Judge Forrester told Higgins, of Crummock Street, Carlisle, he would serve an immediate 10-month term for what had been a "mean" crime.

When released from prison, he will be subject to probation service supervision.