A TEENAGE burglar who left his elderly blind and disabled neighbour “emotionally destroyed” when he stole from her home has narrowly avoided jail.

Matthew Waite admitted committing a spate of burglaries during a five-month crime spree through Witney when he appeared at Oxford Crown Court in July.

The court heard that the 18-year-old had targeted five homes in the town between March and July.

Cathy Olliver, prosecuting, told the same court on Thursday that Waite was caught when he walked into a home in Newlands Mill and found a man asleep on the sofa.

She added: “He was woken up by by Mr Waite coming into this sitting room and turning on the light.”

“He chased him, but was barefoot so didn’t get far.”

However, Miss Olliver said police found Waite in a nearby street and arrested him.

The court heard that Waite stole a wallet containing cash and cards from a home in Lowell Place and 300 euros from a handbag in a home in West End, which he was caught on CCTV camera exchanging at the post office.

Miss Olliver said he also stole about £60 from a handbag in Oxlease and stole £5,800 worth of items from his neighbour.

When sentencing, Waite asked the court to take two further burglaries into consideration – one involving a mobile phone, wallet and cash being stolen from a home in West End and £60 in cash being taken from a home in Crawley Road.

Ronan McCann, defending, said his client had come from a good family, left school at 16 and got caught in a drug spiral.

Appealing for a suspended sentence Mr McCann said Waite had now got a job, wanted to apologise to his victims and to pay them compensation.

Circuit Judge Tom Corrie said he hoped Waite would come to fully understand the terrible impact his crimes had on his victims.

He added: “The worst thing you did was to burgle your next door neighbour – she is old, blind and disabled. She said ‘this has emotionally destroyed me, I go to bed every night and I pray to myself saying please don’t take anything else, I have nothing left to take’.”

However, he said he would give Waite a second chance because of his age, and handed him a 14-month prison sentence, suspended for two years and ordered him to pay her £500 in compensation.

Judge Corrie also imposed a restraining order on Waite, banning him indefinitely from contacting his neighbour or entering her house.