A prolific burglar who gutted an empty property of bathroom and kitchen fittings to sell on for scrap has avoided jail.

Simon Moore raided an address on Spring Hill Road in Accrington for taps, pipe work sinks and a boiler and caused a ‘significant mess’ and ‘large amount of damage’.

Burnley Crown Court heard how the 48-year-old was later identified by police after they found his fingerprints at the scene.

Moore, of Barnes Street, Accrington, pleaded guilty to burglary and was given a six-month jail sentence, suspended for 12 months, with a 90-day curfew requirement to remain at his home between 8pm and 7am.

Keith Harrison, prosecuting, told the court how the property had been unoccupied for several months since the last tenant moved out last year and Moore had broken in some time between April 20 and 30 this year.

He said: “A significant mess was made of the place and a large amount of damage was caused.

“It looks like the premises had been targeted for specific parts to be sold or scrapped.

“From the pictures someone blatantly has a hostile attitude towards sinks.

“He said in his police interview that he had been friends with a previous tenant and that’s why his prints were found inside.

“He’s got a long record. In the main he’s a commercial burglar.”

Richard Taylor, defending, conceded that Moore has a long record for previous empty property burglaries.

He told the court: “He is a defendant who in the past has gone into empty, often derelict properties and taken out items for scrapping. It was a place he had stayed previously.

“The property was empty but it was available for a tenant.

“It’s not the sort of thing he would normally do, going into a property in this way.”

Judge Beverley Lunt said Moore caused a ‘great deal of damage’.

Sentencing, she said: “You have got a very lengthy criminal record for offences of dishonesty and very often going out equipped.

“You caused a lot of damage and a great deal of damage when you were ripping out pipe work etc.

“I’m entirely satisfied that for a person with your record the sentence should be six months’ imprisonment.

“I will suspend it for 12 months in the hope that you now have some stability and you will address your health problems.”