eyeliner tutorial

A brazen burglar who broke into student flats before urinating on the floor, eating resident's food and carrying out a sex act has been jailed.

Connor Alexander, 22, has been sentenced to 20 months behind bars after he was found fast asleep at the scene of his crime.

A court was told how the thief had forced the electric lock of the Winn Studios accommodation on Stoddart Street in Newcastle on May 31.

He then set the fire alarm off and was captured on CCTV urinating on the floor before making his way to a communal area.

Alexander then proceeded to eat food from the cupboards before he lay down on the sofa, put porn on the communal television and carried out a sex act.

But once the brazen burglar had finished he continued to loiter around the flats and danced to music channels on the TV.

The 22-year-old, who said he was drunk at the time, eventually left the communal area but not before breaking into the kitchen and throwing food across the floor.

Security at the flats called police and they attended the building but the thief was nowhere to be seen.

However, a few hours later police were called again - after security found Alexander asleep under a flight of stairs.

He was arrested and later charged with two counts of burglary after being linked to a break-in at a student house on Simonside Terrace in Heaton.

The court was told how he had raided the property earlier that morning and stolen an iMac computer before fleeing the scene.

At an earlier hearing at Newcastle Crown Court, he pleaded guilty to both burglaries and a charge of criminal damage relating to the university accommodation raid.

Now Alexander, of Bayswater Road, Jesmond, has been jailed for 20 months after appearing at the same court on Monday.

Following the case, police released CCTV showing the thief dancing around the student flats - they decided against releasing footage of him carrying out a sex act.

Chief Inspector Steve Wykes, in charge of policing in the city centre, said: "Not often do you come across a case where a burglar has been quite this brazen.

"He has caused hundreds of pounds worth of damage during this raid and absolutely trashed the accommodation.

"This was one of two burglaries that evening and, although some may laugh at footage of Alexander dancing around the flats, these types of incidents are very intrusive offences.

"It can be very frightening to know that a stranger has been in your home and I am glad that this burglar is now facing time behind bars.

"He has been a prolific offender in recent years and I hope that his sentence gives him time to reflect on his behaviour and the impact it has had on his victims."

The bill for the damage caused to the property was £500 and there was also a £100 cleaning bill to clean up the mess he had caused.

The court was also told Alexander had amassed more than 50 convictions in three years since leaving the armed forces due to medical reasons.

CCTV footage of Martin Gilbert looking for ways to break into a property during a burglary in Gosforth, Newcastle. Gilbert was sentenced to three and a half years in prison for burgling 18 homes and stealing £30,000 worth of property.