Police seized more than £4 million from criminals in the county in the past year.

The Kent force claimed back the mammoth sum using Proceeds of Crime legislation, which forces offenders to hand over their ill-gotten gains.

Officers used the legislation to secure 159 successful confiscation orders against crooks, with £3,008,131.31 in the process of being recouped.

A further £1,158,904.17 was seized in cash forfeiture orders.

Police forces can apply for a confiscation order at the crown court following a conviction to deprive criminals of benefits resulting from crime.

Financial investigators will look at bank accounts, houses, vehicles and valuables, even if legally held, to determine if they could be used to pay back the amount they benefited from crime.

If approved by the crown court, the offenders are given a deadline to pay back the full amount or receive a prison sentence.

Even if that prison sentence is served, the money will still need to be paid back.

Once victims have been reimbursed, all confiscated money is shared between the government (50%), the Crown Prosecution Service (18.75%), Kent Police (18.75%) and the courts service (12.5%).

Detective Sergeant Jon Saxby from the Kent Police serious economic crime unit said: "When a criminal is sentenced to prison, this doesn’t necessarily bring to a conclusion the work of the investigating police team.

"The Proceeds of Crime Act is a really powerful tool and we use it to make sure that criminals don’t benefit from committing crime while victims are left to suffer, so we use this act to pursue criminals and claim back money that they have earned.

"The money can then be returned to their victims, or used to support the fight against crime here in Kent."

For those who have not been charged or convicted of a crime but are believed to have benefited from unlawful activity, a forfeiture order can be made at a magistrates court.

This is only made against cash which is believed to be the proceeds of unlawful conduct. This can only be made against cash to a minimum value of £1,000. All forfeited cash is shared equally between the government and Kent Police.

Last month, a convicted burglar who raided homes in Maidstone was ordered to pay back more than £11,000.

He was sentenced to more than three years in prison in May 2016, and following an investigation into his lifestyle he was ordered to pay back £11,549, or face a further seven weeks in prison.

The money reclaimed will be paid back to the victims of his crimes or insurance companies that have incurred a loss.

In November, a confiscation hearing took place against a 58-year-old Swanscombe woman, who had been sentenced in December 2015 to three years in prison for defrauding three firms to fund a gambling addiction.

At the hearing she was ordered to pay back more than £57,000 within two months, or face an additional year in prison.