Two men who burgled a Rhyl flat were told that the offence had been "mean".

Defendant Ronnie Hollingsworth, 64, of John Street in Rhyl, received a ten month prison sentence suspended for 12 months with 150 hours unpaid work, after he admitted burgling his neighbour's home.

Co-defendant Patrick Hearn, 35, of Balmoral Grove, Rhyl, received a four month sentence suspended for a year with 80 hours unpaid work. He also pleaded guilty.

Mold Crown Court heard how the victim left his flat to move into new accommodation and was taking his possessions bit by bit.

But when he returned to collect mail he found the lock on the door had been broken and items were missing.

He reported it to his landlord and when they returned to the property the lock was back on the door.

CCTV showed the top of Hollingsworth's head using a jemmy to force the lock open.

He lived in the flat below.

His nephew Hearn's finger prints were found on a Scalextric Set which had been moved out into the communal area among other items.

Both had denied burglary but changed their pleas on the day of trial.

Judge Niclas Parry told them: "This was a mean offence.

"When you live in shared accommodation you have to trust your neighbours."

Hollingsworth breached that trust, he said.

The judge told him that it was most fortunate that he had abandoned his non-nonsensical defence that he thought that there were burglars in the flat so he used the jemmy to check rather than call the police.

He had an appalling criminal record but the judge said that the convictions were decades old.

Hearn had a previous conviction for burglary but was far more lightly convicted.

The offences took place 16 months ago, the judge said.

There had been no further offending.

Some property had been recovered.

He warned that if they had been convicted after trial then they would have both gone onto prison.