A three-strike burglar has been told to expect jail after he admitted stealing a soft drink from an Ipswich bed and breakfast.

James Mann, of Cemetery Road, pleaded guilty at Ipswich Crown Court on Thursday to burgling the property in Christchurch Street on December 12.

The 44-year-old also admitted possession of a knife and a quantity of cannabis when arrested later the same day.

Mann was cleared of aggravated burglary and denied two charges of attempted burglary, which were ordered to lie on file by Judge Rupert Overbury, who told Mann he faced a mandatory minimum jail sentence for being convicted of a third dwelling burglary.

Adjourning sentence until the week beginning February 18, he remanded Mann in custody and told him: “As a three-strike burglar, you know the score; it’s a mandatory prison sentence, aggravated by your previous convictions.”