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A burglary victim had a lucky break when he received a message from a woman asking for the password on his stolen laptop.

She said that she had bought the computer from a corner shop, and the information led police to a woman drug addict who was caught with some of his property.

The CCTV at the store recorded Lisa Hanratty, 35, walking in with a large paper bag containing the haul.

Prosecuter Rachel Masters told Teesside Crown Court that Hanratty had the property an hour after the daytime burglary on March 28 when a man was away from his Middlesbrough town centre home for just a couple of hours.

Two days after the raid the man received the request for his laptop’s password.

Hanratty, who an officer recognised on the store’s CCTV, was arrested on April 2 and she denied that she had been responsible for the burglary.

Police found some of the man’s missing DVDs and alcohol at her address.

Miss Masters said that Hanratty had 34 convictions for 64 offences including some for dishonesty.

She added: “The Crown would say that she was obviously close to the offence of burglary.”

The burglary victim said that it had affected his partner who now refused to stay in the house alone when he worked a night shift.

Eric Watson, defending, said that it was 10 years since Hanratty was sentenced to custody and she had sought help from a drug rehabilitation agency and from her GP, and she was making genuine attempts to change her life.

He said: “Combined with some positive assistance from the Probation Service it can achieve some positive rehabilitation.”

Judge Peter Armstrong said that she had a long record of offending resulting from a long drug use.

The judge told her: “This offence which came from a dwelling house burglary is a more serious offence than you have committed before because this was very close to the burglary.

“But the efforts that you have made to resolve your issues mean that it would be helpful to continue with that and to avoid locking you up today.”

Hanratty, of Kings Road, North Ormesby, was given a six months jail sentence suspended for two years with drug treatment and testing for 12 months and an activity requirement for 20 days after she pleaded guilty to handling stolen goods.