THE family dog proved to be the undoing for one burglar who stole to fund his drug habit.

Kieren Evers took around £200 in cash meant to pay the rent, jewellery worth £500 and an iPhone from the house in Grange Park.

The 22-year-old of Twickenham Close, Stratton St Margaret, knew his victims through a friend and had even walked the family dog, Swindon Crown Court was told.

Sentencing the so-called three strike burglar to two years and five months in prison, Judge Jason Taylor said the fact Evers had known the family dog would later prove to be his undoing, as it raised his victim’s suspicions: “Ordinarily the dog would not have let anyone in.”

Evers was unmasked as the burglar after his victim, Emma Taylor, heard he had been bragging about some of the items he had stolen.

She confronted Evers, who confessed to the crime, and then frogmarched him to Gablecross Police Station.

Prosecuting, Hannah Squire said Evers had asked during his police interview for help with his heroin and crack cocaine addiction, saying he didn’t want to be a failure all his life.

All the items had been recovered except £60 out of the £200 rent money taken from the house, she said.

Adam Williams, acting for Evers, who pleaded guilty to the burglary charge, said: “He accepts this was a ridiculous offence that was committed through his drug use. For some reason he took issue with his friends because he didn’t feel they were giving him any help.

But he called for his client to get the support with his addictions, citing the victim’s keenness for him to get clean: “She says he needs help. She wants him to get that help and get clear of the drugs, because she knows he can be a better person.

“This is a young man who is crying out for help.

“From his conference with me and the interview in the police station there does seem to be a desire to change. All we can do is give him a chance to prove himself.”

Previous burglaries in 2012 and 2016 made Evers a ‘three-strike offender’, with sentencing guidelines demanding a prison sentence.

Judge Taylor said: “I have no doubt that you do need help with your drug addiction. The reality is the only place you are able to get that help is in custody.”