Addict stole parents' jewellery

A son "shamelessly" stole £20,000 of his parents' jewellery after breaking into their Wolverhampton home to pay off his drug dealer, a court heard.

The gems, which were kept in a safe, had been accumulated over 40 years and were of great sentimental value, Wolverhampton Crown Court heard.

It was not the first time that 28-year-old Glen Jones had stolen from his parents' Bowdler Road home, said Alka Brigue, prosecuting.

In 2003 he was convicted of taking £17,000 worth of their property to sell for drug money to feed his addiction. Yesterday he pleaded guilty to burglary and theft between May and November this year.

Sentencing him to two years in prison, Recorder Simon Drew told him: "These were extremely unpleasant, nasty offences of which your parents were the target."

The court heard that Jones, of Parkfield Grove, Wolverhampton, walked into a police station last month and gave himself up.

He confessed to taking £6,950 of jewellery, some of which he had sold, but had taken a total of £20,000 over the years, said Miss Brigue.

When officers rang his parents' home and asked them to check the safe, they confirmed that the gems were gone and a £700 laptop was also missing. He said he had taken the property to fund his £500 a week drug habit. The court heard that he owes £1,300 to dealers.