A thief who repeatedly tried to intimidate his victim after stealing his property has been jailed.

William Gridley broke into an address on Melbourne Avenue, Dover, stealing equipment and cash along with other items.

A witness saw Gridley, who went to and from the property several times to steal, alerted Kent Police following a break-in on December 3, 2022.

Officers attended and, after Gridley was identified, later arrested him at his home.

Property that Gridley had stolen, including a television, was recovered and the following day, officers seized further items that he had taken.

The 39-year-old, of Colton Crescent, Dover, was charged and, despite bail conditions forbidding him from approaching his victim, who was known to him, made attempts to do so multiple times while awaiting court hearings.

After pleading guilty to the burglary, Gridley was sentenced to two years and one month in prison last Friday at Canterbury Crown Court.

He was also issued a five-year restraining order prohibiting him from any contact with the victim.

Det Con Isobelle Webster-Kell said: “Gridley carried out this criminality without any care for the devastating physical and mental impact it would have on the victim.

“Since committing the burglary, he has pestered and threatened his victim and demonstrated a total disregard for any court-imposed conditions placed upon him.

“Gridley’s custodial sentence is wholly deserved and I hope that, now he is serving time for his actions, it provides a sense of justice to the victim.”