Alex Cantlow, 32, broke into the flat in Stable Road, Colchester after walking through an unlocked door. Peter Gair, prosecuting, said Cantlow had travelled to Colchester from Ipswich to buy drugs and started lighting a cigarette when the flat owner roused him. “He then had a Christmas present still wrapped which had been on top of the daughter’s stocking in the lounge.” He described Cantlow’s criminal record of 38 offences for 86 offences – the first of which he committed when he was 12 years old – as “appalling”. Cantlow must also complete 120 hours of unpaid work, 20 rehabilitation days, and wear an alcohol abstinence monitoring tag for 120 days.