A BURGLAR who was chased and detained by his victims until police arrived was today jailed for more than two-and-a-half years.

Michael Burke, 37, fled from the scene in Middlesbrough when he was confronted by the householders, Teesside Crown Court was told.

He leapt through bushes and over a fence, but his determined pursuers drove around until they found him and held him for the police.

Burke was covered in anti-vandal paint from an outside wall and a screwdriver fell from his pocket, said prosecutor David Crook.

Marks from the tool were found on the patio doors of the property in Shetland Close where the raider had been trying to force his way in.

Burke, of Manor Wood, Coulby Newham, Middlesbrough, admitted attempted burglary on July 23 and was jailed for 32 months.

The court heard how he has 87 offences on his record, including six burglaries – the most recent in 2010 for which he got 15 months.

His barrister, Brian Russell, told Judge Simon Bourne-Arton, QC: “He is realistic enough to know that this must be a custodial sentence..

“He has expressed to me a custodial sentence doesn't really bother him but he cares for his partner who has a number of health difficulties.

“He is concerned about how she will cope without him. He is sorry for what he did and wouldn't have acted that way had he not been out of it.”

The judge told Burke: “You can only be described as a persistent offender and the time has come for imprisonment greater than you have had in the past.

“It is no excuse you were on drugs at the time because people on drugs do things they would not otherwise do. They scare people because when they are out of it, they give a very frightening experience to those they are confronting.”