A PROLIFIC burglar who stole some £1,800 from a house in St David's Road, Abergavenny is now behind bars serving a four-year prison sentence.

Jason Thomas Archibald, aged 38, of St Andrews Crescent, Abergavenny was last week found guilty at Cardiff Crown Court of the theft of almost £1,800 from the property on November 29, 2012 – money that the victim had saved over the previous year and a half to go towards her wedding.

The court heard that Archibald had gained entry through an insecure window while the house owner was at work and that he had 34 previous convictions for theft and burglary.

Before passing sentence, the judge, Recorder Gerard Elias was informed that the victim was considering selling her home of 35 years because she no longer feels safe there since the incident and now suffers from anxiety.

The judge told Archibald that he would have imposed a sentence of five years had it not been for the improvement in his attitude towards drug rehabilitation while he had been in custody and for his early guilty plea.