A BURGLAR was caught red-handed by patrolling police officers carrying a bag full of loot after raiding two houses.

Dean Glanville, 45, of Holton Road, Barry, had just broken into the properties in the town’s George Street, prosecutor Jason Howells said.

The defendant had stolen items which included 11 bottles of alcohol, an iPhone, cash, a purse, a Samsung tablet, mobile phones and a pensioner’s bus pass.

Cardiff Crown Court heard how Glanville had 29 previous convictions for 51 offences.

They included three separate convictions for burglary.

The defendant pleaded guilty to two counts of burglary.

He also admitted being in breach of a suspended prison sentence imposed earlier this year for a burglary in Barry.

Nicholas Gedge, representing the defendant, asked for Glanville to be given credit for his early guilty pleas.

He told the court how his client had previously wrestled with a heroin addiction and had taken Valium on the night of the raids.

Mr Gedge added how the defendant was a father-of-two who is about to become a grandfather.

His barrister said that would be an added motivating factor for him to conquer his drug habit.

The judge, Recorder Duncan Bould, jailed Glanville for 46 months and ordered him to pay a £190 surcharge after his release from prison.