A cleaner took part in a burglary at the firm where he had worked up to a month before the raid.

Sean Taylor and his flatmate broke into A and E Services on an industrial estate in Hampton Lovett, near Droitwich.

They stole two laptop computers valued at £1,280 which were sold for cash, Worcester Crown Court heard.

But the men were caught on CCTV, secretly installed after the company manager suspected thefts were going on.

When police arrested Taylor he had cannabis worth £5 on him.

He was also in breach of a conditional discharge for shoplifting, said Charles Hardy, prosecuting.

Taylor, aged 31, of Woodman Rise, Droitwich, pleaded guilty to burglary and possession of drugs.

Jailing him for 12 months, Recorder Satinder Hunjan QC said he had an appalling record for dishonesty which began when he was 15.

The 55 offences included 11 burglaries.

Taylor and an accomplice – still being sought by police – broke into the premises on March 24 at 8.47am.

The CCTV showed them each carrying a laptop.

The defendant sold his laptop to fund drug debts. He had been a heroin addict for many years, said Richard Hull. defending.

He said the firm was targeted because of the burglars’ historic involvement with the company. Taylor had stopped working there in February and his flatmate had also been employed by the firm as a cleaner.

Mr Hull said Taylor had undergone detoxification for drugs after receiving a four-year sentence for burglary in 2006. He was now clean.

“He is struggling to leave his offending lifestyle behind him,” he said.

“Heroin was his partner for the majority of his life.

He recognises the time has come to move on.”