The grandson of an alleged Victoria Cross hero has been jailed... for stealing First and Second World War medals.

Professional burglar John McDonagh had carried out a series of raids in Faversham and Brenchley.

The 30-year-old failed footballer – who once was on West Ham United’s books – also swiped cash, jewellery and SEVEN shotguns during his crime spree in 2012 and 2013.

Now a judge at Canterbury Crown Court has heard that none of the weapons or the medals have been found.

“Burglary is a crime which is often trivialised because quite frankly it is easy to commit. What we have seen today is burglary has a massive negative impact on the lives of hard working people" - Det Constable Andrew Dampier

McDonagh, who admitted 11 break-ins, was jailed for five years after Judge Nigel Van Der Bijl told him they had been “terrible offences”.

McDonagh was nabbed because his number had been stored as “JP1” in a phone dropped during one of the raids, carried out in Kent, Essex, Sussex and Buckinghamshire.

In one of his burglaries the crack cocaine addict stole two Christening tankards inscribed with the names of the victim’s sons – which were later recovered from a caravan in Peckham where he was living at the time.

Det Constable Andrew Dampier tracked down the owners after trawling through police crime reports and they were later returned to the grateful family in Pearsons Green Road in Brenchley.

He said after the hearing: “Burglary is a crime which is often trivialised because quite frankly it is easy to commit.

“What we have seen today is that burglary has a massive negative impact on the lives of generally hard working people.

“McDonagh is a professional burglar who if he hadn’t been stopped would have carried on causing misery to people.”

McDonagh, who has no fixed address, also admitted raiding four houses in Faversham all committed on the same day, November 27, 2012.

The first was in North Street, Sheldwich but he fled without taking anything.

He then went to Lees Court Road, again Sheldwich, and escaped with £15,000 worth of jewellery.

Minutes later he broke into a house in Courtney Road, Dunkirk, using a ladder before moving on Canterbury Road, Faversham, again stealing jewellery in both raids.

And the mean thief also swiped medals from three campaigns including the First and Second World Wars and the Suez Crisis.

McDonagh had been charged with conspiracy to burgle but hours before his trial was due to start in October he admitted the 11 burglary charges and the conspiracy charge was left on the file.

His barrister, Ahmed Sheikh, told the court that the father-of-four had gone off the rails after discovering his wife had cheated on him.

He claimed that his grandfather had gone to Buckingham Palace to receive a VC from “the king at the time”.

“He appreciates the hurt he has caused because of that. These were terrible, terrible offences and he knows the impact the thefts had on the victims.”

Victim Impact Statements from many of those whose homes had been burgled were read to the court, telling how families were still suffering traumatic effects from the break-ins, including a mum-of-three Sarah Smith, formerly from Brenchley.

She told how the children had used pocket money to buy items which were taken in the burglary.

“It was heartbreaking. Someone had been wandering in our bedrooms and taken things of value to us,” she added.

She revealed that the children were still frightened weeks after the raid with two of her young children asking if the burglars would return.