"GOD helps those who help themselves," recorder Nicholas Parry told a Widnes man at Warrington Crown Court on Friday.

He continued: "You have been given every conceivable opportunity to avoid prison and everybody has bent over backwards to help - everybody but you. I met you last year and I heard the same excuses today I heard then. I am quite satisfied that there is no community penalty with which you intend to comply."

Mr Parry was sentencing Keith Laughton to prison.

Laughton had been convicted of burgling a neighbour's house and stealing a washing machine in 2003, and had been punished with community penalties instead of prison. But the 34-year-old father-of-three of Delamere Avenue had successively breached a community rehabilitation order, a community punishment order, and a curfew order. Laughton gave several reasons for breaching his curfew.

He said once he was locked out of his home, another time he had to look after the children while his ex-partner was out, and on other occasions he took over-time work at short notice.

Laughton was due to start a new job on Monday and offered to pay a fine to avoid prison - his barrister, Timothy King, said putting him in prison would not 'help society'.

But recorder Mr Parry disagreed - he jailed Laughton for eight months.