Two drug addicts have been jailed for 18 months each after posing as visitors to old people’s homes and robbing residents of cash and jewellery.

Alan Apap, 24, of Fgura and Christan Urry, 21, of Paola, who are friends, admitted they needed cash to sustain their drug habit.

The crimes took place between February 12 and 23, when the pair robbed two elderly residents of St Vincent de Paul Home, two residents at Holy Family Home in Naxxar and a resident of the old people’s home in Cospicua. The residents are aged between 70 and 90. The two men had originally denied the charges but decided to submit a guilty plea after the court was given evidence about their particularly “destructive” drug addiction.

In handing down judgment, Magistrate Doreen Clarke said they seemed to making progress to kick the habit and that although a prison term was by law the only way forward, she wanted to make sure they would carry on with their rehabilitation programme.

She sent a recommendation to the prisons’ director and officials at Caritas, who are taking care of the men, to make sure that the necessary arrangements are made for them to follow the programme.

Police Inspector Keith Arnaud prosecuted.