A burglar involved in two thefts from the same Ellesmere Port street has been jailed for three years.

Nathan Creighton, 30, of Manor Lane, Liscard, Wallasey, pleaded guilty at Chester Crown Court before his trial was due to begin on the two burglaries, as well as a charge of being involved in aggravated vehicle taking.

All the offences took place on the night of December 14 last year in Hampton Gardens, where two pedal bikes and a Mercedes car were stolen from two different properties.

Prosecuting at the court on Tuesday, August 13, Thomas McLoughlin said the defendant was identified as a screwdriver found in the later-abandoned car matched Creighton's DNA.

After being arrested on February 20, Creighton later assaulted a police officer in custody by hitting the constable in the face.

Mr McLoughlin said CCTV from a nearby Hampton Gardens home at about 3am showed three men on the street, looking over the fence of a property.

They broke into a shed and stole two pedal bikes collectively worth £2,298, belonging to a mother and daughter. The mother's bicycle was later recovered but the other, valued at about £500, was never found.

The mother, in a victim impact statement, said she had been left felling "very vulnerable", and could not afford to replace her daughter's bicycle.

Moments later, the burglars stole car keys from a Hampton Gardens house, and the car was driven away from the scene, later crashing at a roundabout on Rossmore Road East.

The theft victim said they had suffered anxiety from the incident. The Mercedes - a company car - had cost more than £5,000 in repairs, plus £1,500 for use of a hire car.

Creighton had 56 previous convictions for 82 offences, and was a 'third-striker' for burglaries, which carried a minimum jail term.

Defending, Kevin Liston said the defendant had, at the time, disengaged with mental health medication, having been diagnosed with ADHD and paranoid schizophrenia.

He was "not in a good place mentally" and had accrued a debt with loan sharks.

Since being in custody, he had engaged with the mental health team and he had stabilised.

Asked by the judge, Recorder Eric Lamb, to address the court on remorse, Creighton – appearing via videolink – said: "I am truly sorry for my actions.

"If I could turn back time, I would walk away. I just hope that the victims can feel safe again.

"I feel my conscience is eating away at me, and if I could assure them personally I would. I will never commit an offence of this nature again."

Recorder Lamb sentenced Creighton to a total of 36 months.

He also imposed a 30-month driving ban and a five-year restraining order preventing Creighton contacting the burglary victims in any way.