Twelve people arrested in Swale for burglary and theft offences have been jailed for a total of 31 years.

The figures released by Kent Police relate to a series of sentences passed since June to highlight work carried out by specialist detectives.

During the same period, those brought to justice for similar crimes across Kent have ended up behind bars for 150 years in total.

Det Ch Insp Ann Lisseman, who oversees burglary investigations across north Kent, said:

“This figure should go to show how much work is done by our detectives who work tirelessly to catch and bring before the courts those responsible for breaking into people’s homes.

“While it is the courts that decide on the length of sentence, the knowledge that we have taken these harmful individuals off the streets for a total of a century and a half makes all our hard work worth it.

“In the past six months alone, a man has been jailed for 12 years for an aggravated burglary in Faversham, and three men who admitted handling stolen goods after a war veteran’s medals were stolen in Sittingbourne have been put away for a total of six years.”

Since June, police in Swale have charged 53 people with burglary offences.

She added: “We are still working around the clock to investigate and detect burglary and theft offences, as we know all too well the dreadful impact these crimes can have on their victims.”