A "CAREER criminal" from Brynmawr who burgled three houses in one night before being chased and bitten by a police dog has been sentenced to four years in prison.

Dean Kelsey, 27, was high on cannabis, valium and alcohol when he went on a burgling spree in Ebbw Vale and Croespenmaen on the night of July 24 this year, a court was told.

Police spotted Kelsey, of Worcester Street, Brynmawr, and another man trying to get into houses using light from their mobile phones.

The pair ran off when they spotted officers, but a police dog chased and bit Kelsey’s thigh as he tried to jump over a garden wall. His accomplice managed to escape.

Kelsey first targeted a home in Mount Pleasant Road, Ebbw Vale, where he stole car keys from the conservatory before driving off in the family’s Ford Fiesta.

He then went into two houses in Overdale Walk and Cherry Grove Close in Croespenmaen, making off with a mobile phone, handbag, designer watch and new Nikon camera which held pictures of the family’s young daughter.

Kelsey has multiple previous convictions for burglary and pleaded guilty to the charges last week.

Judge Rhys Rowlands, at Cardiff Crown Court, told Kelsey: “All burglaries in peoples’ homes are serious. It’s an invasion of a home which is at its least is very upsetting for its victims.

“You were out that night looking for houses to burgle. You had no thought at all to the feelings of the people in these homes and it is plain you were acting with another individual. You were equipped as you were wearing gloves that night.

“The victims seem to be the most recent in a long line of people whose homes you’ve burgled. You are a career criminal quite determined to break the law.”

Joanna James, defending Kelsey, said: “He was heavily intoxicated at the time of these offences and genuinely believed he wasn’t responsible. He wanted to keep out of trouble.

“This is not a case where there was any ransacking to the houses and there was minimal disturbance.”