A villager who stole thousands of pounds worth of antiques was found hiding in a cupboard when police arrested him, a court heard.

Rikki Sutcliffe, of Rowhedge, was identified as the intruder who raided a large country house at Edwardstone, near Shotley, Suffolk, through DNA analysis.

Sutcliffe, 46, of Taylors Road, admitted burglary at Ipswich Crown Court.

Prosecutor Robert Sadd said the burglary took place at a home at 4am on August 12 last year. Antiques worth up to £10,000 were stolen. Police found blood, and that led them to Sutcliffe's home.

Mr Sadd said that until he appeared in court, Sutcliffe had maintained he had nothing to do with the burglary.

The court heard that in a previous case DNA from blood found at the scene had led to Sutcliffe being identified as the culprit in a burglary at commercial premises in Fordham. He had also previously been convicted of handling stolen property.

In mitigation, Simon Dyball said: "Mr Sutcliffe's difficulty in life is that for many years he has had a problem with drink.

"Most of his offences are not residential burglaries, they have been non-residential, nicking slates or bricks."

Mr Dyball said in prison Sutcliffe had chances to reform, but without success.

Jailing Sutcliffe for 30 months, on Friday, Judge John Devaux said that he had 64 previous convictions, and was "somewhat concerned" about his involvement in offences in two adjoining villages.