Footage viewed remotely showed two hooded figures in the process of breaking into a bungalow yards from the busy A140 on Parkers Lane in Long Stratton.

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Norwich Magistrates’ Court said the owner alerted his son who called the police on July 31 last year.

Trevor Perkins, 54, of Rectory Road in Haddiscoe, pleaded guilty to burglary over the theft of items including watches, silver items, writing boxes, whiskey, cash and bank cards.

The court heard he had “an extraordinary list of previous convictions”.

He will be sentenced at Norwich Crown Court on April 6.

John Cooper, prosecuting, said the burglary had been “deliberately planned to take advantage of the victim’s vulnerability when they were in hospital”.

He said Perkins had been identified from the CCTV despite attempts to conceal his face and turn off security measures.

Officers who visited his home address had discovered a number of items deliberately burnt that had been identified as coming from the break-in, he added.

© Eastern Daily Press