A man took a cocktail of drugs on the day he got out of prison, then carried out a burglary the following night.

John Knox told police he could not remember the break-in, but a court heard how blood found at the scene matched his own.

The 29-year-old was also responsible for stealing £300 of property from a supermarket, Chelmsford Crown Court, was told.

Knox, of Tyrells Road, Billericay, was jailed for 13 months after he admitted charges of burglary and theft.

He also asked for two other thefts from Tesco in Chelmsford to be considered.

The court heard Knox broke into the Rayleigh Exchange shop in Rayleigh town centre on June 28 last year and stole £970 of DVDs and electrical goods.

He told police he could not remember the break-in as he had taken a cocktail of drugs after being released from prison the previous day, Emma King, prosecuting, said.

Neil McAulay, mitigating, said drugs were behind Knox's offending but he was now taking steps to give up the habit.

Published Thursday June 10, 2004

Brought to you by the Evening Echo