A PROFESSIONAL burglar described as "a menace and a danger to the inhabitants of Kent" has been jailed for four years.

Judge Adele Williams told Matthew Beevor: "The inhabitants of Kent are in danger from you and I have to protect them."

Beevor, who was said to have an appalling record for burglary, told his barrister he was unable to cope on the 'outside'.

Beevor, 29, of South View, Hersden, near Canterbury, appeared at Canterbury Crown Court, where he admitted handling jewellery belonging to elderly Rose Cook, as well as a burglary at Galpins House, King's School, when he stole a £2,000 laptop belonging to a pupil.

Darren Weir, prosecuting, said the jewellery was stolen from the Rose Cook's home in Hythe and later recovered from a Canterbury pawnbrokers where Beevor had sold it.

At the school, the security bars on a window had been forced up and the computer snatched while the 15-year-old owner was out of the room. DNA from a bloodstain at the scene led police to Beevor.

Katie Fox, defending, said that following Beevor's arrest he had made efforts to trace the computer but had not been able to do so.

Beevor had suffered a number of personal problems and mental health issues and said he was now institutionalised and unable to cope with life outside of prison.

Summing up, Judge Williams said that only Beevor could break the cycle of offending and he had to find the resolve.

She added: "You are a menace and a danger to the inhabitants of Kent. You are a professional burglar and this is the only way you know how to live at the moment."