A pair of burglars that were responsible for nine break-ins at homes across Kent – including eight in one day - have been jailed for nine years.

Shaun Watch, 32, of Frittenden Close in Ashford, and Lee Sullivan, 26, of Badlesmere Close in Ashford, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit burglary with intent to steal between 10 June and 14 June.

They were both sentenced at Maidstone Crown Court on Monday, December 2 for four-and-a-half-years imprisonment each.

The pair targeted properties in rural areas across the county, hurling bricks and garden ornaments at windows to gain entry before stealing laptops, games consoles and jewellery items.

The duo began their crime spree by they targeting a property in Flood Street, Marsham, on Tuesday, June 10.

The burglars smashed a small ground floor window before stealing camera, laptops, jewellery, tankards and crockery.

A pair of witnesses reported seeing a black VW Golf convertible outside the house at the time of the break-in, and one of them spoke to Sullivan who said he was doing some work at the property.

They then struck eight times on Thursday, June 12.

Between 10.05am and 12pm, they hit Park Lane in Boughton Monchelsea. This time they took a Playstation 3, games, a camcorder, a Samsung tablet and items of jewellery.

A third burglary was reported to have happened between 8.30am and 6.30pm in Egerton Avenue, Swanley.

The occupant of the property returned home to find a panel in the front door had been smashed and £600 cash and two watches stolen.

Between 7.15am and 5pm, a laptop and a remote controlled helicopter were taken from another rural property in Pilgrims Way, West Kingsdown.

Two homes were then hit in Lower Street in Broomfield.

Between 2.50pm and 3.50pm, a witness reported seeing the VW Golf convertible stop outside a neighbour’s house and a person get out and knock on the door.

Moments later she heard an alarm sound and when she returned to the window, the car had gone.

In the same road, but between 8am and 8pm, it was reported an attempt had been made to enter another property as a front door had been damaged but the burglars had again failed to gain entry.

The final three raids were in the north of the county.

Between 8.50am and 1.25pm, a window was smashed at a home in Hook Green, Southfleet. The victims reported items of gold jewellery and a quantity of cash missing.

They also struck at New Barn Road in Southfleet, sometime between 9.30am and 12.15pm.

The burglars used a garden statue to smash a window before entering the property and stealing items of jewellery.

The final burglary was reported to have happened at 2.55pm in Pear Tree Lane, Shorne, near Gravesend.

A neighbour heard a house alarm going off and when they went to check they saw the window in a conservatory smashed but no items had been taken.

Police detectives later tracked down the black VW Gold convertible which detectives were able to prove was in the area for the majority of the breaks in.

Detectives from north Kent investigating the series were able to use CCTV to prove that Watch and Sullivan were at the scene of eight of the nine burglaries, while number plate recognition cameras also backed up that evidence.

When the pair were arrested on 8 July, property stolen from the burglary in Mersham was found in woodland near to where Sullivan had been living.

Investigating officer, Detective Constable Mark Donovan of Kent Police, said: “Both Sullivan and Watch embarked on a three-day crime spree, targeting rural locations in affluent areas of the county with the intent of stealing items they believed they could quickly pass on and make some quick cash.

“With the help of vital information from witnesses, we were able to build up a picture of what happened in the conspiracy and using technologies available to us, we were able to prove they were at or near the scene of the nine burglaries.

“This sentence should go to prove just how serious Kent Police and the courts take burglary and that we will use a range of tactics and tools at our disposal to track offenders down and ensure our rural communities remain a safe place to live and work.”