A 21-YEAR-old Wellington man who threatened a homeowner with a knife has been jailed.

Adam Parsons, of Cornhill in Wellington, pleaded guilty to two counts of burglary, being in possession of a bladed article and criminal damage, and was sentenced at Taunton Magistrates' Court on Monday, July 14, to just over eight months in prison.

The court heard how, on Saturday, June 28, Parsons had broken into two gardens on Hoyles Road. At one property, he broke into a shed and stole tools and gardening equipment.

At the second property, Parsons threw paint over the house and car and woke the homeowner, who called police at around 5am.

The burglar had also attempted to steal a barbecue when a member of the household challenged the intruder who responded by shouting threats and displaying a knife, according to the police.

Parsons then escaped through neighbouring gardens before officers arrived 15 minutes later.

The stolen items, including tools, were found abandoned nearby.

The court heard how information from the community helped officers identify Parsons as the offender. They were then able to place him at the scenes through his electronic monitoring (EMS) tag.

Officer in the case, PC Toby Caswell from the Wellington Neighbourhood Policing Team, said: "Parsons is a prolific offender who has no awareness or thought for the impact his crimes have on his victims.

"To be threatened in your own home and have your private, safe space breached in this way is unacceptable and abhorrent.

"Through the bravery of the victim interrupting Parsons' crimes, the two anonymous Crimestoppers, and the effectiveness of the EMS tag, we were able to identify Parsons as the offender, recover and reunite victims with their stolen property and put Parsons in front of the courts two weeks after the crime was committed."