A remorseful burglar who broke into the home of a woman in her 80s at night while she was in bed felt so bad about what he’d done that he offered to pay for CCTV to be installed at her home, a court heard.

Myron Dodd had been out celebrating his 21st birthday when he climbed through an open bathroom window of a detached house in Holton Road, Halesworth, Ipswich Crown Court was told.

The resident of the property, who had lived there for 43 years, was asleep in the early hours of August 26 when she was awoken by a noise, which sounded like the window of her en-suite bathroom opening, said Michael Crimp, prosecuting.

She then heard a thump and sat up in bed and could hear someone moving about in the bathroom.

“She then saw a silhouette in the doorway and called out: ‘Who’s there’ and the intruder turned and left,” said Mr Crimp.

The woman stayed in bed and called the police and 21-year-old Myron Dodd was identified as the burglar from a palm print that was found on the bathroom window.

On Friday Dodd, of no fixed address, admitted burglary and was jailed for 12 months.

Sentencing him Judge Rupert Overbury said: “I’m sure you would agree that if this was your grandmother who had been burgled at night by a stranger you would want to see that person go to prison for the longest time possible.

“You will understand how distressing it must be for anyone to burgled and even more so when it is night and when the victim is an elderly person,” said the judge.

He said Dodd had expressed remorse for what he had done and in addition to writing a letter of apology to the victim he had also offered for CCTV cameras to be fitted at her house.

Steven Dyble, for Dodd, said his client had committed the offence after getting drunk while celebrating his 21st birthday.

He said Dodd had not deliberately targeted the property and felt dreadful when he realised how old the occupied was.

“He has written a letter of apology to her which is with his solicitor and he has offered to pay for CCTV to be put in at her house,” said Mr Dyble.