A persistent burglar who targeted a man he had known for several years has been jailed.

Jamie Ernest Robert Taylor appeared before Lewes Crown Court on Tuesday.

The 25-year-old admitted burgling a first-floor flat in London Road, Bexhill-on-Sea on August 1.

Recorder Stuart Lawson-Rodgers jailed him for 30 months.

In addition, two concurrent 18-month sentences imposed for previous offences were activated, so that Taylor was sent down for a total of four years.

During the August break-in Taylor forced his way into the home of a 50-year-old man and threatened violence if he did not allow him to take money.

The court heard Taylor, of St James' Road, Tunbridge Wells, had known his victim for several years, pestering him for food and cash, and on an earlier occasion breaking into his flat while he was out to steal electrical goods.

Det Sgt, Jason Tuck, who helped bring Taylor to justice, said: "I am pleased that he is now in prison and I hope that his sentence will serve as a warning to others tempted to prey on innocent people that this sort of behaviour will be dealt with robustly and will never be tolerated."