A man broke into a couple's home and stole handbags and purses before using the stolen money to buy drugs.
Michael Turner, 51, broke into a house in Bridgend on January 2 this year, while the occupants were upstairs.
It was only when the couple came downstairs around half an hour later that they realised somebody had broken into their home and stolen their possessions - which also included passports and house keys.
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Turner - who has a string of previous convictions - appeared at Cardiff Crown Court on Monday, February 7. He pleaded guilty to burglary.
Lowri Wynn Morgan, prosecuting, told the court that on the afternoon of January 2, Luke Hemming and Holly Terrington had been upstairs in their house on Cae Drae Street, before deciding to walk downstairs and go outside for a cigarette at around 3.30pm.
When they came downstairs, they noticed that Ms Terrington's handbag was missing, and soon realised that purses, wallets, as well as a set of house keys and passport were also gone. They suspected that somebody had broken into their house, with the gate at the bottom of the garden left open, which they said was unusual.
They called the police and later checked footage from a pet camera they had installed in their home, which captured a man entering the property, and walking through the kitchen towards the living room, before leaving with the items.
An attending officer from South Wales Police recognised the man as Turner, having had previous dealings with him, and the 51-year-old was found at a nearby homeless shelter later that day, along with some of the stolen bags and over £70 in cash. A wallet belonging to Mr Hemming was also found outside the Tesco superstore less than half a mile away.
In his police interview, Turner, initially denied the burglary, saying he was at the nearby Kerrigan Project at the time of the incident, and that he had withdrawn the money he was found with from a cash point a few days earlier. However, he later admitted being the man shown in the pet camera footage, and said that he had used the stolen money to purchase drugs.
The 51-year-old has 35 previous convictions from 78 offences, including theft, non-dwelling burglary and handling of stolen goods, with this his eighth dwelling burglary offence. He had last been released from custody on November 4 - less than two months before committing this burglary.
Adam Sharp, defending Turner, admitted that his client's record was poor and that he had committed an "opportunistic act", but said he had shown some periods of stability in his life, having been in a stable relationship with his ex-partner until February 2021. He also added that his client was homeless and a drug addict, and had lost his mother to Covid last year.
In a victim impact statement, Ms Terrington said that the burglary had left her "less trusting of people in the local area", adding: "I never thought I'd feel this way in my own home. I always thought this was a safe place."
Mr Hemming added: "I have been very anxious to go downstairs in my own home, in case someone could be standing there. I feel violated knowing that someone was in our home when we were here.
"I could have walked downstairs a few minutes earlier and been confronted by that man, and I don't like to think about what could have happened."
Prior to sentencing, Judge Niclas Parry told Turner: "Yet another burglary. Important items taken, items of sentimental value taken. The level of harm is in the most serious category as people were at home.
"You have an appalling record. This is your eighth offence of dwelling burglary and you have 78 previous offences. Clearly a custodial sentence is required."
With a one-third discount for his guilty plea, Turner was sentenced to 20 months in prison, of which he will serve half in custody.
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