TWO burglaries conceived while drowning his sorrows have led to an Ipswich man ending up with 14-week suspended jail sentence today.

TWO burglaries conceived while drowning his sorrows have led to an Ipswich man ending up with 14-week suspended jail sentence today.

Carl Donaldson must now complete 150 hours of unpaid work as penance for break-ins at the Suffolk Deaf Association and a dentist surgery in Fonnereau Road, Ipswich, on November 7 last year.

The 33-year-old from Newnham Court was sentenced by the town's magistrates after pleading guilty to the burglaries at an earlier hearing. He had also admitted two counts of possessing a knife blade or sharp-pointed article in a public place.

Magistrates, who described Donaldson's list of previous convictions as "deplorable", also said he must pay the Suffolk Deaf Association �300 compensation as well as �50 to the dentist.

The court heard Donaldson and his accomplice Karl Brown were caught after breaking into the Suffolk Deaf Association's premises just before midnight after an alarm was set off.

The caretaker inside the building dialled 999. He saw shadowy figures outside and left the premises to point the two men out to police officers who had arrived.

A window had been smashed and around �175 in cash taken. A security camera had also been removed and damaged.

When police questioned the pair they found the money on Brown. While talking to Donaldson an officer heard something drop to the floor, which turned out to be half of a pair of scissors. Donaldson also had a flick knife on him.

A dentist surgery nearby had been broken into as well, but nothing was taken.

Mark Holt, mitigating, said Donaldson had a long history of offending. He said the scissor blade and knife were tools to help his client carry out the burglaries.

The court heard Donaldson had been laid off from a labouring job at the time of the offences and had been in The Cricketers' public house in Crown Street with Brown earlier that evening.

Mr Holt said: "Somewhat in a drunken stupor, or under the influence of alcohol, both came up with this plan about how they were going to raise some money.

"They just happened to walk down the road and they were two addresses that were picked."

He added neither man wanted a confrontation and chose to burgle business premises which they thought were uninhabited, rather than residential properties.