A serial burglar struck at a hospital, village hall, and a sports club during a local football match - stealing the ref's phone.
But he left a vital clue - a blood stained piece of kitchen roll after cutting himself while ransacking one building. David Houghton's crime spree started when he arrived at Vauxhall Motors football ground in Ellesmere Port.
He sneaked into the referee's changing room while a game was in progress and took a bag which contained £20 and an expensive mobile phone.
David Houghton, 56, of Capenhurst Lane, appeared at Chester Magistrates Court on 27 January where he was sentenced to 12 months imprisonment after pleading guilty to burglary offences.
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