A Denbigh man has been jailed following a burglary at a holiday caravan.

Jessie Mayhew also admitted five charges of handling stolen goods taken from burglaries at other caravans in the Llanddulas area.

He was arrested when drinks bottle was found at a burgled caravan at Craig y Mor in Llanddulas and police got a DNA hit from it.

It turned out that some of the stolen goods - expensive photographic lenses - were sold by him on eBay.

Police checked his phone and found photographs of some of the stolen property upon it.

When they searched the flat he then lived at in Pensarn, further stolen goods were recovered, Mold Crown Court was told on Friday.

Mayhew, 22, of Graig Road in Denbigh but who the court heard was now caring for his father in Conwy, was jailed for 16 months.

The part time business student at Llandrillo College was told by Judge Rhys Rowlands that it was a serious matter.

It was akin to burglary at someone's home.

Some of the caravans, he said, were like "little palaces".

He said people looked forward to their stays in North Wales and it was a big investment.

Judge Rowlands said that he did not think there was much distinction between a dwelling house burglary and the burglary of people's caravans, which they regarded as their "home from home."

He told Mayhew that his offending, largely in September of last year, occurred when he lived alone in a flat in Pensarn and he claimed he had fallen in with the wrong crowd and had been influenced by them.

The defendant had broken into a caravan and stolen goods to the value of £1,400.

He had handled stolen goods from other burglaries, to the value of £5,000.

There had either been more than one person involved or the defendant had made a number of return trips, he said.

They were people's part time dwellings - people looked forward to going to their caravans and left property in them which were valuable to them.

He had a previous conviction for going equipped for burglary but that dated back to when he was a youth.

The defendant had pleaded guilty, was on a business course and was now caring for his father who suffered from chronic pain syndrome.

But he had burgled one caravan himself and was providing an outlet for others who had burgled caravans.

"I am urged to draw back from an immediate custodial sentence. I am afraid I am driver to the view that the offences are too serious to be dealt with by anything other than an immediate prison sentence," he said.

Prosecuting barrister Mark Connor said that the defendant had burgled one caravan by smashing a window and a number of items were stolen including a television set, a vacuum cleaner, hair straighteners, a watch, headphones and a ruck sack to the value of £1,480.

He had handled a £70 North Face top, three Royal Dalton figurines valued at £70 each, an expensive charm bracelet and camera equipment.

The defendant advertised camera equipment on line and travelled to Wrexham to sell four items for £1,700.

He had sold one lense on eBay for £680 and another for £840.

Defending barrister Sarah Yates said that the caravans was unoccupied at the time.

He had the good sense to plead guilty.

The defendant had changed his life-style, was now caring for his father and was on a part time college course.

He was young enough to be rehabilitated.

"This is a young man who lost his way but who is now back on it," she explained.

She asked the court to draw back from an immediate prison sentence in the circumstances.