A 25-YEAR-OLD homeless man was jailed for four years after robbing a woman at knifepoint and burgling a house in Cirencester.

Dorothy Humphries had been ‘trying to help’ homeless Adam Saunders, 25, but was put in ‘genuine fear’ when he repaid her kindness by robbing her at knifepoint in Cirencester town centre, a court heard today.

Saunders spotted Mrs Humphries drawing money from a cashpoint and shouted: “Give me some money or I'll stab you.”

Prosecutor Greg Gordon told Gloucester Crown Court: "She felt something poking into her back and she turned and saw it was a steak knife. She was in genuine fear he would stab her so she gave him a £20 note. He then ran off."

Saunders, of no fixed address, pleaded guilty to robbing Mrs Humphries on November 7. He also admitted burgling the home of a man he knew, George Price, in Meadow Road, Cirencester, on October 16.

Judge Michael Harington jailed him for a total of four years.

Mr Gordon said Mr Price was at home when Saunders broke into his house and took a £300 watch. Mr Price saw Saunders as he was fleeing the property and recognised him.

Saunders had made 35 previous court appearances for a total of 132 offences, said Mr Gordon.

Jason Coulter, defending, told the court: "He is 25 years of age and he has had what I can only describe as a fairly miserable upbringing.

"He is one of eight children. He barely knew his father. He was abused by his stepfather. His mother could not cope and placed him in care in his early teens and it seems that is where his difficulties started.

"Since he came out of the care system at 18 he has never had a permanent address. He has been in and out of prison.”

He said: “Inevitably he drifted into serious addiction to drugs, heroin, and there is no doubt that the motivation for these offences were to get money to feed that addiction.”

Burglary victim Mr Price was known to him as a fellow member of the 'drug underworld of Cirencester' and they did not like each other, said Mr Coulter.

Saunders burgled him as much out of revenge as anything, he added.

"To his shame, the lady he robbed is very well known to him and, frankly, rather dear to him. He has known her since she was a child. She was a family friend. Clearly, prior to this robbery, she had been trying to help him as much as she could.

"She was willing to give him little bits of money here, there and everywhere. He fully accepts by his guilty plea that seeing her at the cash point he took his opportunity to rob her and she must have been frightened.

"He is thoroughly ashamed of what he has done to Mrs Humphries and wishes me to publicly apologise for his disgraceful behaviour towards her."