A "PROLIFIC" thief from Droitwich has been jailed for a series of offences in Worcestershire towns.

Robert Doody admitted a string of charges including burglary, attempted burglary and handling stolen goods and was given a four-and-a-half year sentence.

Judge Robert Juckes, QC, said Doody had "established himself as a prolific thief and burglar" and it was time to give the community a break from his activities.

Doody appeared by video link for the hearing at Worcester Crown Court and pleaded guilty to five charges of handling stolen goods, two of theft, one of attempted burglary and one of going equipped for theft.

He was also committed for sentence by magistrates after admitting three counts of burglary.

Ian Ball, prosecuting, said Doody was arrested after police were called because three men were seen acting suspiciously at 4am on June

17 this year in the Charles Henry Road area of Droitwich. The 35-year-old was found hiding in a garden shed and had with him a pair of gloves and a torch. Police found the stolen goods from other offences earlier this year when they searched his home in Weaver Close, Droitwich.

Mr Ball said the items included three BT Open Reach flourescent jackets, the kind sometimes used as disguise by thieves stealing copper cable, a satnav unit which had been ripped from the dashboard of a car at a business park in Stoke Prior, near Bromsgrove, a media system and Wellington boots taken from raids on two other cars in the same area. All the cars had been badly damaged, Mr Ball told the court. He also had goods taken in raids on sites where new homes were being built in Droitwich.

Doody also admitted breaking into a building at Spire Clinic, where an attempt was made to take an air conditioning unit after the door was forced off, stealing two computers from KopyKats print business and taking a stereo from Elite Chauffeurs in Droitwich after smashing windows while he was on bail in July.

Mr Ball said the total amount of the goods was £4,500 and the damage caused by the thefts he was associated with totalled £7,000.

Richard Hull, defending, said Doody, who had 43 previous convictions, had had a drink problem since the age of 14 and had "gone off the rails" after getting into debt through smoking cannabis. The effect on his health has been "catastrophic" and he now wants to make a fresh start, Mr Hull said.