A DOUBLE house-breaker who struck at night when his victims were at home, is behind bars for 30 months.

Burnley Crown Court heard how Gerald Whalen, 25, went out trying door handles in the darkness, looking for homes which were unlocked so he could steal.

Sentencing him, Judge David Pirie said Whalen, who had offended while subject to bail and two combination orders, had run the risk of confrontation with the complainants.

The defendant, of Lime Avenue, Accrington, admitted burglary and had been committed for sentence by magistrates, after being convicted of burglary.

Roger Baldwin, prosecuting, said a father of three was asleep at his home in Stanley Street, Oswaldtwistle when police on duty saw Whalen leaving the property and recognised him.

The man was completely unaware his home had been burgled, but his wife's handbag had been snatched from the front room. Whalen was arrested but said he had been at home watching television at the time.

The defendant also struck on Walter Street, Blackburn, where a witness saw him try about 10 door handles. Whalen was banging on one window shouting to be let in and then confronted a woman in the hallway of her home.

Whalen told the shocked occupant he just wanted money. Her son, who was upstairs, gave chase after Whalen ran off empty-handed.

Mark Stuart, defending, said Whalen knew he was going to go to prison. The question was the length of the sentence.

Neither of the properties were ransacked and the offences were unsophisticated. He had not been "tooled up" as a professional burglar might be.