A SERIOUSLY-ILL burglar who trashed a house in Accrington hunting for scrap metal has been given a second chance by a crown court judge.

Simon Moore, 48, had broken into a property in Springhill Road and was involved in ripping out sinks and pipework, in a bid to find items to sell on, Burnley Crown Court was told.

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He insisted that he thought the property was vacant.

But the court heard the landlord was still trying to rent out the house and had been left with a huge bill when he discovered the damage later.

Defence counsel Richard Taylor said that the last time Moore was in hospital he had no fewer than 30 surgical procedures for various problems and he was now ‘genuinely frightened’ about his prognosis.

He said: “In the past he has had difficulties with his accommodation but that has been sorted out and he has been in his own place since May 9.

“There has been nothing on his record since this.”

Mr Taylor said he had been awaiting the outcome of the criminal proceedings before he attended to his medical matters.

He had been convinced that the property was empty, which accorded with his previous record of offending, Mr Taylor added.

But Judge Beverley Lunt warned the defendant, who has a number of convictions for going equipped for theft, that he could not keep using his medical condition as an excuse to avoid a spell in custody.

“You have caused a lot of damage and there was a great deal of loss caused when you were ripping out pipework to sell on,” added Judge Lunt to the defendant.

Moore, of Barnes Street, Accrington, admitted burglary and was given a six-month prison sentence, suspended for 12 months.

He was also given a 90-day curfew.

Keith Harrison, prosecuting, said: “There was a large amount of damage caused. It looks like the premises were targeted for a specific purpose.”

He told the court that the landlord had left the property in a decent state after having difficulties with a previous tenant.