A DRUG addict has been jailed for more than 11 months for breaking into a town centre phone shop in a bid to make quick cash.

John Birch was arrested after a witness spotted him and another man smashing their way into Fone World in Culver Street West, Colchester, on Saturday night.

The window of the store had been smashed and six Bluetooth speakers worth £214 were taken.

Officers found a rock and blood at the scene and arrested Birch and another man shortly after midnight. Birch, 40, had injuries to his hands and the items were found dumped in a carrier bag nearby.

As he was led away he said ‘it is cat and mouse – sometimes you get caught. Put it all on me – I’m going back to prison.’

He admitted burglary when he appeared at Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court and being in breach of a suspended sentenced for a burglary at The Entertainer in Colchester High Street last month.

Magistrates handed Birch – who wore a jumper with the word addicted written on it and an emblem of a cannabis plant on it - a jail term of 48 weeks.

Paul Baker, mitigating, said Birch was complying with a drug programme but had missed an appointment due to ill health which meant he did not receive his Subutex.

He said: “It is right to say he has been battling a drug addiction since he was 14.

“He was sent to youth detention at that age and started using drugs while in custody and then continued into his adult life.

“At the time he was feeling very unwell.

“He was out with a friend and they were passing the property – a stone or a rock was thrown, the window was broken and items were taken.

“It was not pre-planned by him nor the person he was with and it was not particularly sophisticated.”

Birch, of Gascoigne Road, Colchester, has 40 previous conviction for 85 offences.

He must pay £1,000 to Fone World to replace the windows which are set to cost approximately £2,500 to repair.