A BURGLAR who stole Christmas gifts and commemorative coins from a Bournemouth home has been jailed for 22 months.

Rhys Curtis Millen, 24 of Cornish Gardens, Bournemouth, was sentenced at Bournemouth Crown Court on Tuesday April 7 after admitting a charge of burglary.

At around 4am on Thursday December 19 last year the occupant of a home in Hendford Road was woken by the sound of a loud bang.

The householder went downstairs and found that a search had been carried out of the rooms and the back door was wide open.

The victim discovered that a number of Christmas cards written out the previous day had been opened and cash and cheques from inside had been taken. Various other items had also been stolen from the property.

Following enquiries, officers located Millen at an address a short distance away at around 6am and he became aggressive toward officers before he was detained.

A number of items were recovered that were confirmed as coming from the burgled property, including a ceramic horse, jewellery, cash, commemorative coins and the cheques written out by the victim.

Detective Constable Christian Bryant, of Dorset Police’s Priority Crime Team, said: “This was a heartless burglary where Rhys Millen has taken cash and cheques that were obviously intended as Christmas gifts.

“I am pleased that we were able to very quickly locate Millen and recover the stolen property.

“We are committed to taking action against offenders such as Millen who show no regard for other people’s property and bringing them before the courts to face justice.”