FIVE sheds and outbuildings in the Berkeley area were burgled by a man who was already subject to a suspended sentence for identical earlier crimes, a court heard on Friday.

Kirk Jarvis, 36, of Thornbury, carried out the spate of raids on the night of May 30 and 31 this year, together with accomplice Damien Galliford, 23, of Ullswater, Southmead, Bristol.

Gloucester Crown Court was told they did it because they were under pressure to settle a £1,500 drug debt to a dealer who threatened to harm their families if they did not pay up.

Both pleaded guilty to burgling outbuildings in Berkeley and Wanswell. They stole more than £5,000 worth of power tools, garden machinery, bicycles and other property.

Jarvis was jailed for a total of 42 weeks and Galliford received a sentence of 34 weeks suspended for two years.

He was also placed under a three months 9pm-6am home curfew and ordered to do 35 days of a rehabilitation activity programme.

Mr Haggerty told the court that the pair were quickly caught because police stopped them in their van at 4am that morning.

Tools including bolt cutters and screwdrivers and pairs of gloves were found in the vehicle along with stolen goods.

Mr Haggerty said Jarvis was in breach of a 30-week suspended sentence imposed on him in 2015 for similar offences. He was three quarters through the suspension period when he resorted to the same kind of crime again.

Galliford had a burglary conviciton in 2008 but most of his record related to public order offences.

Greg Gordon, for Jarvis, said the reason he re-offended was that he was being chased to pay an historic drug debt.

"Threats were made towards him and his family which he took very seriously," Mr Gordon said.

Since the offences Jarvis had been able to repay the debt thanks to a loan from Galliford's sister, he said. Subsequently Jarvis' pregnant partner has taken out a loan to pay the money back to her.

For Galliford, Sabhia Pathan said he shared in the same drug debt with Jarvis and his sister had also bailed him out of his share.

"His family remain supportive of him and are in the public gallery," she said.