A man who burgled a neighbour’s home and stole prescription medication has been jailed for a year.

Ryan Anthony David Langton was chased out of the house by the woman who awoke to find him creeping around her house with a torch.

The 25-year-old admitted an offence of burglary theft as well as possessing cannabis.

Magistrates’ chair Michael Murley told Langton: ’What you did must have been absolutely terrifying.’

In our coverage of previous court appearances we reported that the woman was asleep in her flat at The Bretney in Jurby on October 22 when she was woken by a noise at 6am.

She said she could see a beam of light moving around outside her bedroom door so she switched on her bedside light.

The beam moved away from the doorway but when the woman got up she saw a shadowy figure at the front door.

She punched the intruder in the back between his shoulder blades and he ran off.

The woman told police that she thought she had not locked the front door and there were no signs of forced entry.

Police made house-to-house inquiries and spoke to Langton, who was living nearby at the time.

He was said to have appeared very inquisitive about the incident and police became suspicious of him.

Codeine tablets belonging to the woman were found in Langton’s pocket and a search of his property found cannabis valued at £44 as well as more prescription drugs.

After being arrested, Langton, whose address was given as Queen’s Pier Road, Ramsey, was interviewed and told police he had never been to the woman’s home and that he didn’t know her, but he could provide no explanation as to why he had her prescription drugs.

He told police the address was his uncle’s and said: ’Anyone could have put it there.’

Defence advocate Paul Glover said: ’This must have been a very harrowing incident, however there was no forced entry or violence offered and Mr Langton did leave.

’He has no recollection of the incident but does accept responsibility.’

Mr Glover referred to a probation report which said that Langton was ’horrified’ by his actions.

The advocate said that his client was engaging with the mental health team and had already served the equivalent of a 14-week sentence while on remand.

Magistrates sentenced Langton to 12 months in custody for the burglary and two months for the cannabis possession, to run concurrently.

Magistrates’ chair Mr Murley told Langton if it had not been for his guilty plea they would have sent him to the Court of General Gaol Delivery for sentencing. The higher court can impose longer sentences.