AN ADDICT who fell back into a cycle of using Class A drugs has been jailed for two years for a spate of burglaries.

Ian Morris Nish, 46, of Falkland Road, Popley, was sentenced at Winchester Crown Court on Thursday, 21 June after taking thousands of pounds from pubs and social clubs.

Nish, pictured, pleaded guilty to four counts of burglary, three counts of fraud and one count of attempted burglary.

The spree took place between March 16, 2018 and April, 9 2018 when Nish was arrested with his co-defendant for the attempted burglary charge Jason Robert King, 43, of Dryden Close, Popley.

The court heard how the spree started when Nish stole a bank card using it to make three contactless payments.

Nish’s antics then went onto a number of pubs in Basingstoke and Deane, including the King’s Arms in Whitchurch, where an estimated £1,000 was stolen and the Winkle, in Winklebury where approximately £3,500 was taken.

Prosecuting Tessa Hingston said: “When it comes to the burglaries there is a common process of forcing entry, damaging tills and targeting fruit machines.”

A victim impact read out to the court from King’s Arms landlord Marc Williams said: “I have lost business because of this as we had to remain closed while the damage was assessed. As well as the money taken the repairs will cost between £600 and £700. The whole incident has left me upset and angry.”

The court heard Nish had been arrested on March 27, and was on bail when he, along with King, undertook an attempted burglary of the Oakridge Community Centre.

Defending Nish, Aleksander Lloyd told the court that the defendant hadn’t been in trouble since the mid-1990s, but family issues meant he “fell back into his drug habits”.

Mr Lloyd said: “He was going through a bad time and he relapsed into using drugs and the type of behaviour he had 20 years ago. He is very aware of the impact he has caused on these businesses and he is very apologetic for this.”

In sentencing Nish, judge Jane Miller QC said it was an “enormous amount” of burglaries carried out in a short space of time which was aggravated by his drug use.

Judge Miller said: “You know that this type of crime will result in a prison sentence and if you don’t kick this habit you will not have a very long life.”

Nish was sentenced to two years for the burglaries and three months for the three counts of fraud to run concurrently.

King was given a six month jail sentence, suspended for one year, for the attempted break-in of the Oakridge Community Centre.