A drug addict who raided a woman's home on Christmas Day and opened gifts before stealing property worth £1,300 has been jailed for 30 months.

Steven Kelly, 28, forced open the front door of a flat in College Terrace, Brighton, before unwrapping presents and fleeing with possessions in the burglary.

Kelly, of College Road, also broke into three other properties in Brighton and Hove in January and February.

Prosecutor Guy Russell told Lewes Crown Court: "Property of a value of £1,300 was taken, with Christmas presents also being opened and damage caused costing £300.

"Blood stains were found on a cabinet door which were later identified as the defendant's."

Mr Russell said Kelly later smashed a window at a property in Marine Parade and stole £10 cash on January 28.

He said later in the day Kelly had forced open the door of another property in Marine Parade, although nothing was stolen.

He said: "The last offence was in York Road in Hove on February 1.

"The occupant of the house left at 7.30pm and returned at 11.15pm to find the front sash window had been broken."

Mr Russell said Kelly had admitted after his arrest on March 5 that he stole to feed his £20 a day heroin addiction.

Kelly, who has previous convictions for theft, admitted three counts of burglary and one of attempted burglary and asked the court to take 13 other burglaries and one theft into account.

Pierce Power, defending, said: "He is determined to rid himself of his addiction which has been his problem for the past five years.

"He has said that on Christmas Day, when he committed the first offence, he was not only on heroin but also high on Temazipam."

Sentencing him to 30 months for each offence to run concurrently, Judge Charles Kemp said: "You know as well as anybody that the root of your offending is a drug problem and unless you overcome that you are going to continue serving ever-longer prison sentences."