A BRIERLEY Hill drug addict has been jailed after a "spur of the moment" raid on a second-hand car dealership.

Brett Spittle, aged 31, was described as a "prolific but not very successful burglar" when he appeared at Wolverhampton Crown Court.

"Plenty of clues" were left behind by Spittle and 21-year-old Benjamin Winkett after they broke into Corbett Motors in Cinder Bank, Netherton.

Accompanied by another man, who has not been traced by police, the pair caused £2,000 worth of damage when they used a crowbar to smash their way through an office roof.

But the court was told the items taken - £20 in loose change, a digital camera and a number of car keys, were of "little value".

Police were quickly on the scene and arrested both Spittle and Winkett, who were extremely dirty and covered in mud after the crime.

Michael Grey, prosecuting, said Spittle, of The Promenade, had eight previous burglaries on his record when he had asked for 42 other burglaries to be taken into consideration.

Spittle admitted burglary and punching a police officer in the chest after his arrest, was jailed for 27 months by Judge Michael Challinor.

Winkett, of the same address, also pleaded guilty to burglary and was jailed for 18 months.

The judge told the two men the raid on the garage had clearly been planned as they were wearing dark clothing and in possession of the crowbar.

“Your case is seriously aggravated by your many previous convictions,” he told Spittle.

Gurdeep Garcha, defending Spittle, maintained the burglary was carried out on the “spur of the moment” and said his client had a long term problem with class A drugs.

He added that calling Spittle a professional would be a complete over-statement.

Mukhtar Ubhi, defending Winkett, who had two previous burglaries on his record, said his client was now looking to get his life back on the rails after his release from custody.