A DRUNKEN thief burgled a series of homes in one day and tried to rob a woman of her car keys.

Two days later 42-year-old Michael Ward even walked into a Bolton church homeless shelter and stole a volunteer’s car.

At Bolton Crown Court he was jailed for four years and three months after admitting the offences.

Craig Macgregor, prosecuting, told how Ward began his crime spree at 6.30am on September 5 in Linden Road, Boothstown, where he spotted an 81-year-old man outside his house.

Ward managed to slip inside the property and stole a mobile phone and house keys. He was to return to the same house at 6.30pm where he attempted to steal a car by claiming he worked for a finance company and was repossessing the vehicle.

At 1.30pm he walked into a house on Alexandra Road, Worsley, and attempted to steal house keys from the kitchen before he was caught by the victim’s husband and thrown out, but not before they managed to take his photograph.

Just over an hour later he found his way into a house on Worsley Road, Little Hulton, where the householder found him in the cellar then, at Larkhill, Farnworth at 5.30pm he was found in an elderly woman’s bungalow by her daughter.

When confronted, he claimed to be re-laying flags and cheekily told one of his victims: “I was just passing and saw your door open so I thought I would help myself.”

At 6pm he targeted a woman who was getting out of her car in the car park of Home Bargains, Farnworth.

He rushed up behind her, grabbed her car keys and tried to snatch the car keys from her hand.

When challenged by a man passing by he claimed: “I’m a gypsy. We don’t do those things.”

Undeterred, half an hour later, he was back in Boothstown at Chaddock Lane where a woman saw him coming out of her house with her handbag. She grabbed the bag back and he ran off.

Two days later he stole the church volunteer’s car and was found driving it in St Helens on September 9.

Nick Ross, defending, said; “There has been a very strong alcohol misuse thread running through the defendant’s life for some time.”

He stressed that although confrontations had taken place Ward, of Shirley Road, St Helens, had been drunk and had not used a weapon or violence.

“He is ashamed, embarrassed and wishes to apologise to all the occupants and the lady victim of the attempted robbery,” said Mr Ross.

Jailing Ward, the Honorary Recorder of Bolton, Judge Timothy Clayson, advised him to tackle his alcohol problems while in prison.

“You have a long record and alcohol will mean that, if you don’t sort it out, other offences will occur,” said Judge Clayson.