A MAN has been given a suspended jail sentence after he burgled a house where he had been a lodger.

Christopher Jenner, of Oyster Close, Hatch Warren, Basingstoke, stole a mobile phone and cans of lager from the Middlesbrough home of Stephen Turner on December 4 last year.

The 28-year-old appeared at Basingstoke Magistrates’ Court, having pleaded guilty to burglary and theft.

The court heard Jenner took up lodgings with Mr Turner in the summer of last year, after the pair met in a pub, but was told to leave in December after having trouble paying his rent.

Claire Hartman, prosecuting, said Jenner had stolen a Samsung Galaxy 3 mobile phone and 24 cans of lager.

Caroline Bonavia, defending, said Jenner stole the items after returning to the house to collect his belongings, and that he had since moved in with his step-parents in Basingstoke and had found a job working in a warehouse.

Presiding magistrate Julia Etheridge said the offence was aggravated by Jenner’s previous convictions.

She sentenced him to 12 weeks imprisonment, suspended for 12 months, with a supervision and thinking skills requirement. He was also ordered to pay £85 court costs and £80 victim surcharge.