A PERVERT who broke into a young mum’s house and used her underwear to gain sexual gratification has been jailed for two years.

Anthony Palmer, 23, of Orchard Road, Redlynch, was sentenced to 26 months’ imprisonment at Salisbury Crown Court on Friday after pleading guilty to burglary and criminal damage.

The court heard he broke into the house where the woman lived with her two children in July last year and used her computer to look at pornography.

The woman returned home during her lunch break from work and discovered her front door slightly ajar, but no one was in the house.

She realised someone had been in the house while she was out when she found condom wrappers near her computer and checked the search history to discover porn sites had been accessed as well as websites about cars.

The next day she found a suspicious substance on underwear in a drawer and called in police.

Palmer, who is a motor mechanic and lived nearby, was caught when he matched palm prints and DNA samples taken from the house.

Rachel Marshall, prosecuting, said the incident had been very distressing for the victim.

“She is vulnerable, a single parent, and what has happened to her is absolutely disgusting.”

Robert Courts for the defence said his client originally denied the offence due to embarrassment not because of any malice towards the victim, and his later decision to change his plea to guilty demonstrated genuine remorse.

Sentencing, Recorder Alastair Malcolm QC, said: “Burglaries are very serious offences, even when the value of property stolen is small or effectively non-existent. Until someone has experienced a burglary it is impossible to understand the extent of invasion of privacy and property felt by the householder.”

Palmer must serve at least half his sentence before being considered for release on licence.

He was also banned from contacting the victim or entering her current or any future home address.