A 31-YEAR-OLD woman suffering from drug problems has been sent to prison after burgling the house of a 79-year-old man.

Carla Ball pleaded guilty to breaking into the house and stealing items and cash to the value of £436.

The court was told the 79-year-old got up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom and he noticed a light on, but went back to sleep.

Prosecutor Martin Callery said when he went to explore the following morning an external door had been damaged.

He also said a rear living room window had been smashed and then opened after Ball went round the back of the property in Richmond Terrace, Accrington

The court heard one of the items stolen was a Sony Ericsson phone, which the man rang only to find it answered by Ball.

The 31-year-old, from Oswaldtwistle, said she had bought the phone from two women for £10 and agreed to return it to the resident.

However a scientific examination found it was Ball who had trespassed in the house and stolen the phone, alongside other items such as a sewing machine, tobacco and cash from several rooms in the house.

The court was told Ball ‘deliberately’ targeted the house to break into and knew the elderly victim was at home.

Mr Callery said she was ‘under the influence of drugs at the time’ and committed the offence to ‘fund heroin addiction’.

Judge Beverley Lunt, passing a sentence of two years in prison, said Ball, of Commercial Street, previously had ‘a dreadful history of incidents of dishonesty’.

She said the sentence was ‘not just about her, it is about society’.

Phillip Holden, for defence, acknowledged Ball had a history of drug issues but had been ‘enjoying residential rehabilitation care’.

However the loss of her partner has seen her ‘result in a transition back to drink and drugs’ when she committed the crime, Mr Holden said.

He added: “She is now in a drug free accommodation and takes voluntary drug tests. She works as a trustee in the kitchen. She understands this is her last chance.”

Judge Lunt said Ball knew the man and had a ‘decent enough’ relationship with him.

She said: “£400 is a lot of money to someone of that age, A lot of people lose partners and don’t turn to drugs. The only person who can stop you offending is you.”