A burglar has been jailed for raiding a number of homes in villages around Faversham and Sittingbourne.

Bill Willett, 21, of Sittingbourne, was sentenced at Maidstone Crown Court on Friday, December 5 after he admitted breaking into five addresses in less than a month.

On April 14, he broke into an address in Frinsted and stole jewellery and other items. Witnesses saw an unfamiliar Mitsubishi Shogun vehicle parked in the area prior to discovering the break-in.

On May 2, he burgled an address in Eastling and in four days from May 6 he broke into three different homes - two in Wormshill and one in Lynstead, ransacking them and stealing items including tools and car keys.

For each of the burglaries, he received three years imprisonment to be served concurrently.

Willett also admitted to handling stolen goods in relation to an X-Box stolen from an address in Bredgar and theft of a pressure washer from an address in Doddington. He was sentenced to six months for both offences, to be served concurrently.

His co-defendant Eli Smith, 18, of Faversham, was handed a 150 hours unpaid work requirement for handling stolen goods in relation to one of Willett's crimes on May 6.

Officers from the Swale police burglary unit arrested both men on May 9 after piecing together evidence from each of the incidents.

A warrant was also executed at their homes, where stolen items were recovered and the Mitsubishi Shogun was located outside Willett's home. The keys to the vehicle were found in his pocket and police established it was registered to his partner.

Investigating officer, Detective Constable Iain Joyce said: "Willett's crime spree brought real fear to these rural communities.

"We worked closely with the victims and witnesses in order to build up the strongest case possible against Willett, who has a number of other convictions for burglary dwelling, and I welcome the news he is now behind bars.

"His sentence should send a message to those criminals who mistakenly believe rural areas are an easy target: we work tirelessly to catch all offenders, no matter which areas they operate in, and nothing will stop us doing all we can to bring you to justice."