A burgalr who raided eight homes in Bristol has been jailed for two-and-a-half years.

Martin O'Brien removed two panes of glass from the conservatory of an 86-year-old woman's home in Bishopston before searching her property while she lay asleep.

The break-in on August 17 was discovered by the woman the following morning, but nothing appeared to have been stolen, although two mobile phones had been left.

O'Brien, 29, of Cranbourne Road, Lawrence Weston, broke into six other homes in the city on the same night and had previously burgled a property where a drop of his blood was discovered. He was arrested when the blood was found to match his DNA.

O'Brien later pleaded guilty to two charges of burglary and one charge of damaging property and asked for six other burglaries to be taken into consideration when he was sentenced.

Brian Pixton, prosecuting at Bristol Crown Court, said the drug addict first burgled a property in Bristol on June 30 last year while the occupants were out. He said it was only after the occupant of the top floor returned three days later and found a drop of blood on her mattress that O'Brien was linked to the crime through DNA analysis of the stain.

He was arrested on September 19 and when he was refused bail blocked his toilet and flooded his cell in protest.

Fergus Currie, defending, said his client was trying his best to combat his drug addiction.

Jailing O'Brien for two-and-a-half years, Recorder Mr Richard Smith QC told the defendant he had reduced the sentence considerably to reflect his motivation to kick his drugs habit.