A MAN with autism said his ‘lifeline had been taken’ when his drug addict brother burgled his flat and stole his games consoles.

Christopher Barton, 30, admitted breaking into the third-floor flat while his brother was at work, to steal his beloved consoles.

Preston Crown Court heard his brother used the gaming machines as a way of coping with his disability.

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Barton knew how important the consoles were to his brother as he had been living with him a month before the burglary.

On September 27 Barton took consoles and games, valued at £400 into a money exchange shop and pawned them for £199.

In a victim statement, his brother, said: “He has taken my life away from me by taking my games.”

Recorder Guy Mathieson handed Barton, of Pall Mall, Chorley, a 15-month sentence suspended for two years, with a 12-month community order and six months of drug rehab.

He said: “This was a particularly mean offence.

“You targeted your brother for a burglary because these are easily transportable and easily sellable. This is the thing that gives him the most comfort and you knew that when you took it.

“That is why it is a very mean and selfish act.

“At the time, your need for quick money over rode any loyalty to your brother or indeed anyone else.”

The court heard Barton was truly ashamed and had been engaging in treatment to rid himself of his addiction to heroin.

Recorder Mathieson said: “Your brother might well feel you got yourself lucky but if I send you to prison you will be released into society without probation, drug treatment and perhaps the best opportunity of stopping this behaviour.”