A burglar who broke into a Lowestoft house while the owner was out and stole watches and cufflinks has been jailed.

John Fisher, 30, smashed a glass panel in a rear door of the property in Victoria Road on April 28 and during a search of a bedroom tipped out the contents of a jewellery box on a bed.

He stole three watches and cufflinks worth a total of £290 and was arrested after a fingerprint was found on the jewellery box, said Charles Myatt, prosecuting.

Fisher, of Southfield Gardens, Lowestoft, admitted burglary and was given a mandatory three-year jail term as it was his third conviction for house burglary.

The court heard his previous convictions were in 2004 and 2012. Judge Rupert Overbury gave him a 20pc discount for his guilty plea, which means his jail term is 879 days.

Michael Clare, for Fisher, said his client had not ransacked the house and had pleased guilty to the offence at the first opportunity.