Serial burglar gets seven years

These included two at Cooden and one at Pebsham.

David Appleton, 34, of Slough, appeared at Chichester Crown Court last Thursday charged with five offences - three burglaries, drink driving and disqualified driving and had a further 24 offences of burglary and attempted burglary taken into consideration.

These offences included a series of burglaries, where he claimed that his child had lost a ball in the residents' gardens. On these occasions he was accompanied by a woman and a small boy.

An attempted burglary at Pebsham was foiled because a householder had taken the precaution of locking her door behind her before assisting in the search for a "lost" ball in her garden.

The offences took place in Sussex, Hampshire and Thames Valley.

In Sussex the locations were: Chichester, Bognor, Lancing, Southwick, Shoreham, Fishersgate, Fishbourne, Worthing, Bexhill, Eastbourne, Hove, Hollingbury, Peacehaven and Haywards Heath.

DC Colin O'Hare said: "The sentence is reassuring. Judge Thorpe set an example, saying that these types of offences will not be tolerated, particularly against the elderly.

"We want to thank the public for their valuable assistance in helping to identify Appleton. This is an good result after a lot of hard work by both the police and public."

Detective Inspector Mark Ling, head of Rother CID, said he was pleased that the judge sent out the message to all burglars that this type of crime will not be tolerated and is pleased that a criminal who targeted the Bexhill area is now in prison.