A BURGLAR who terrified an elderly couple as he raided their Newport home in the evening while they were sat in their living room, has been jailed.

Homeless Spanish national Mahamadou Drammeh was high on cannabis when he wandered into their house by opening the front door before he locked it behind him.

Prosecutor Tom Roberts told Cardiff Crown Court how the wife noticed a shadow and the defendant walking up the stairs before the husband called out and confronted him.

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“His wife was screaming for the police. The defendant told them he was homeless and needed somewhere to sleep,” said Mr Roberts.

The couple’s grandson came home as the incident was unfolding, at around 5.30pm on December 20 last year.

He and his grandfather stayed with Drammeh until the police arrived and he was arrested.

Mr Roberts said the 22-year-old defendant had a holdall with him and had tried to steal a laptop, an Armani bag, clothes, boots and an SD card.

Drammeh, of no fixed abode, pleaded guilty to the burglary which took place in central Newport.

Mr Roberts read out a victim impact statement from the husband which said: “I am concerned about my wife’s health. He invaded our privacy.”

Defence counsel Stuart John said his client had no previous convictions and had become homeless as a result of his drug habit.

“The defendant’s recollection of the incident is limited because he was under the influence of cannabis,” said Mr John.

“His move to the UK has not worked out and he wants to go back to Spain.”

The court was told Drammeh had already spent nearly two months in prison following his arrest.

Judge Tracey Lloyd-Clarke told the defendant: “You entered the house at around 5.30pm when it was dark at that time of year.

“The victims were sitting in their living room when they saw a shadow and realised someone was going up their stairs.

“Anyone who walks into someone’s home and steals from them, causing them fear, especially when they are elderly, commits an offence that can only be dealt with by a term of immediate custody.”

She jailed Drammeh for 10 months and told him he would have to pay a surcharge upon his release from prison.