A JUDGE told a burglar it appeared that offending was his occupation.

Leon Faulkner, 24, of Melba Road, Canterbury, Bradford, was jailed yesterday for 18 months at Bradford Crown Court after admitting burglary and two theft charges.

Prosecutor Peter Hampton told the court he and brothers Robert and Thomas Adams attacked an industrial unit in Mytholmroyd, in November 2013, pulling off the roller shutter doors and stealing four off-road motorcycles valued at £12,000.

The defendants made two trips to Bradford to transport the stolen bikes.

Faulkner was arrested and admitted the offence. But on April 25, 2014, while on police bail, he joined two other men in an attack on the premises of a Land Rover dealer in Hessle, Humberside, where the windscreens of four vehicles on the forecourt were smashed in order to open the bonnets and steal the grilles and front lights, causing £11,000 damage.

Faulkner’s DNA was found on a bonnet catch. Arrested and bailed again, in September he broke into a plumber's van in Blackpool and stole tools worth £800.

His barrister, Rebecca Young, said her client was easily led, and his life had gone wrong after he was dismissed from the Army.

She said there was clearly an element of planning by the group but she claimed his offending was extremely unsophisticated, committed in full view of CCTV.

Judge Peter Benson said he had taken an enthusiastic part in the burglary, and it appeared that offending was Faulkner’s occupation, without any thought about its impact.

Judge Benson told Faulkner he gave him credit for his guilty plea.