Police were able to clear up 13 burglaries after an Ipswich man wrote a letter from prison saying he wanted to “wipe the slate clean”, a court has heard.

Ricky Mutton, 29, was serving an indeterminate sentence imposed in 2011 for stabbing a Chantry man when he asked for officers to visit him in May this year, Ipswich Crown Court heard.

During the meeting Mutton, formerly of Montgomery Road, Ipswich, admitted 18 offences including burglaries, theft and vehicle crimes, said Carolyn Gardiner, prosecuting.

Today Mutton admitted burglaries at properties in Richmond Road, Ipswich and Bridge Guesthouse in Ancaster Road, Ipswich on March 10 2010.

He also admitted stealing a BMW car on the same date. He asked for 15 offences, including 11 house burglaries to be considered.

Jailing Mutton for 876 days Judge John Devaux said that as he had committed three house burglaries in the past he was bound to jail him for three years less some discount for his guilty pleas.

He said the offences Mutton had admitted would have probably have remained unsolved if he hadn’t decided to “wipe the slate clean”.

Miss Gardiner told the court that the owners of the house in Richmond Road went to bed and woke up the next morning to find their BMW, which was worth about £1,500, had been stolen.

They then discovered an untidy search had been made of the downstairs of their home and a handbag containing £85 and £20 in a money belt had been stolen.

The BMW was recovered later the same day undamaged.

The burglary in private accommodation at the rear of the Bridge Guesthouse also happened at night while the owners of the property were asleep,

They woke to find an untidy search had been made of the premises and items worth £1,329 had been stolen.

Roger Thomson for Mutton said his client had not got a date for his release from prison and had decided to wipe the slate clean so he could make a fresh start when he was released.

Mutton was jailed in 2011 for an indeterminate period with a minimum of four years for stabbing a man after dragging him from from bed at his Chantry home.

Mutton, who pleaded guilty to wounding with intent to do grievous bodily harm, was one of two people involved in the attack on the man at his flat in Bittern Close, Ipswich.

The victim, who was tied-up during the break-in, suffered a pierced liver when he was stabbed twice and had eight stitches in a head injury.

When his attackers finally left the flat, the victim raised the alarm after managing to untie himself before going to a neighbour’s house.

DC Duncan Etchells of Suffolk Police’s Operation Converter team said Mutton had contacted the police because he had had “a change of attitude towards crime and his motivation was to clear his slate”.

He added: “We know that one offender can often be responsible for a number of crimes and we work to encourage individuals to be honest with us so they can be sentenced for all offences, and then choose to move on when they are released.”