Police have said they hope an 11-year jail term for a burglar who raided his aunt's home when she was at her son's funeral will deter other criminals.

Ipswich Crown Court heard how Levi Hilden, 36, committed a string of offences between December 31, 2018, and January 8, 2020, which also included an armed robbery with another man where £25,000 worth of jewellery was stolen.

The court heard how Hilden, of Birkfield Drive, Ipswich, burgled his aunt's home in Meadowlands, Kirton, on New Year's Eve on 2018 knowing that the house would be empty.

Ornaments, watches and jewellery, worth around £8,600, were stolen from the home during the burglary, and a silver Volkswagen Beetle was reported to police as leaving the scene.

His "year-long spate of criminality" also included being involved in the robbery of a jeweller who was loading stock from his shop into the boot of his car in Quay Street, Sudbury.

During the incident, Hilden put his hands around the neck of the owner's wife, who was standing nearby - while accomplice Stuart Bocock, armed with an axe, ordered the victim to hand over a bag containing jewellery.

Jewellery worth £25,000 was stolen, along with the victims' mobile phones and a handbag.

Bocock, of Thorntondale Road, Doncaster, was jailed for eight years at Ipswich Crown Court in November last year at the age of 30.

Sentencing Hilden on Wednesday, Judge Emma Peters called the burglary of his aunt's home "cruel, nasty and wicked".

She added: "Mr Hilden, this is a year-long spate of significant criminality, not just dishonesty, but dishonesty that has had a horrible effect on a number of people."

Det Sgt Paul Cappleman, from Bury St Edmunds CID, said: "Hilden was an individual who caused a great deal of distress and upset and he showed little concern for the impact his actions had on the victims.

"Such acts of robbery and burglary are extremely intrusive crimes and would have been extremely frightening to have experienced.

"A sentence like this acts as a deterrent to other would be burglars that the courts take this type of offending very seriously.”

For conspiracy to rob, Hilden was handed an 11-year sentence, as well as three years for conspiracy to burgle.

He was sentenced to three years and eight months for the burglary of his aunt's home, four months for the jewellery theft and 18 months for threatening with an offensive weapon.

All sentences will be served concurrently, meaning Hilden received a total of 11 years in prison.