A man who broke down a door and entered a woman’s house has been sentenced.

Thomas Oliver, 42, was also found with a small amount of cocaine when he was searched by police upon his arrest.

Oliver, of Colne Road, Brierfield, appeared at Burnley Crown Court on Thursday, April 2.

Beth Pilling, prosecuting, said Oliver’s victim awoke in the early hours of January 30 to banging at her front door.

She looked out of the window and saw it was the defendant before going back to bed.

The banging became louder before she eventually heard the sound of someone coming up the staircase, with Oliver having broken down the door.

In a victim personal statement, she said the incident had left her scared and not wanting to be alone at home.

When arrested, officers found an amount of cocaine inside Oliver’s wallet when he was searched.

Oliver has six previous convictions from 10 offences, with his last conviction being in May 2023 for failing to supply a specimen, which resulted in a three-month suspended prison sentence.

Judge Sara Dodd said Oliver had already been in prison for a “considerable time” on remand, and did not consider activating the suspended sentence due to time already served.

Oliver was sentenced to 14 days in prison for each of the offences, to run concurrently with each other, giving a total sentence of 14 days.