A BURGLAR stole goods from a newly-built house just days before the owners moved in.

The couple had moved some of their possessions into their new home in Barber Road, Brighton Hill, Basingstoke, but stayed at their old home on the night of July 13 this year, Winchester Crown Court heard.

Barnaby Shaw, prosecuting, said: “It may well be that an internal door to the garage was not secured.

“When they came back, they found the property had been burgled. A neighbour had seen a suspicious vehicle drive past slowly, and then he saw it again on the driveway at 5.30am on July 14.”

The court heard that Tristan Cole, of no fixed address, stole goods including a Nintendo Wii console, a flat-screen TV, a bottle of champagne, a North Face jacket and two laptops.

Mr Shaw said fingerprints taken by scenes-of-crime officers matched those of Cole. In a search of his previous address, police found the stolen jacket. None of the other items were recovered.

He added the couple found the burglary particularly upsetting because it happened at their new home.

Cole, 26, previously pleaded guilty to one count of burglary.

Sinead Willox, mitigating, said Cole had recently relapsed into regularly taking drugs.

Recorder Jonathan Fuller gave Cole a 12-month community order, with supervision and a drug rehabilitation order.