SAMUEL Naylor used his climbing skills to gain access to the Outdoor Action shop on King Street, Blackburn, where he stole seven Sprayway Gortex jackets worth £1,400.

Blackburn magistrates heard that Naylor shimmied up a drainpipe and broke a first floor window to get into the shop.

Naylor, 23, of Union House, St Peter Street, Blackburn, pleaded guilty to burglary and was committed in custody for sentence at Preston Crown Court.

Sarah Statham, prosecuting, said Naylor had tried, unsuccessfully, to get in through a ground floor window before turning his attention to the first floor.

"Having stolen the high value jackets he somehow managed to make his way back down the drainpipe despite the fact that he claims he was drunk," said Miss Statham.

She said Naylor had only been released from prison three weeks earlier.

Andrew Church-Taylor, defending, said the jackets were all recovered intact and compensation would be limited to the value of the windows broken.