A MAN described as a “one-man crime spree” has been jailed for stealing a £1,000 wedding ring during a break-in.

Ian Dunlop burgled a house in Temple Street, Oxford, after entering through an open window on July 25 last year.

He also stole an iPhone and £40 cash, as well as the precious silver ring, from occupant Darren MacNespie after rummaging through his belongings.

Last year 25-year-old Dunlop avoided prison following a string of 19 offences, including three other break-ins, which he blamed on using the drug heroin for the first time.

Dunlop, of Whitworth Road, Swindon, was sentenced at Oxford Crown Court on August 23 last year to a community order, 150 hours’ unpaid work and a six-month drug-rehabilitation programme.

He also asked for 13 other offences of stealing handbags from cars, which were committed between April and July, to be taken into consideration.

Sentencing him to eight months in custody last Friday, Recorder Emily Formby said it was clear his offending had been related to his drug addiction.

She said: “This is a cycle of offending that is related to your drug use.

“The ring you took was a wedding ring and was something with sentimental value to the victim greater than its simple cash value to you.

“You are someone who will take what you can find when you can find it. There was no evidence of planning – this was opportunism, a crime committed on impulse.”