A SEX offender who stole thousands of pounds from pub gambling machines during a spate of burglaries has been jailed.

Lee Heathcock admitted raiding and ransacking the pubs in Stourport and Kidderminster when he appeared via videolink from HMP Hewell at Worcester Crown Court on Friday.

The 41-year-old admitted four counts of burglary and one count of handling stolen goods, offences he committed while on licence for another burglary, a handling matter and a sexual offence.

The burglaries happened in the summer of last year at Ye Olde Crown Inn in Stourport on June 27; at the Swan pub in Kidderminster on July 1; at the Penny Black in Kidderminster on July 11 and again at the Penny Black in on August 28.

He also admitted handling stolen goods (a video camcorder) between June 4 and September 1 last hear.

Ramya Nagesh, prosecuting, said Heathcock committed the burglaries with Peter Montroy who has yet to be sentenced.

The total stolen in the raids Heathcock admitted was put at £3,206 and the total damage at £5,960, figures put by the prosecution and accepted by the defence.

During the first raid at the pub in Stourport £1,256 was stolen from the gaming machine and damage to the pub of £1,840 was reported.

A glove was found at the scene and Montroy's DNA was found on it.

Heathcock also admitted a burglary at the Swan in Kidderminster at around 1.30am on July 1, stealing £350 from a gaming machine. Heathcock was identified from CCTV footage.

A burglary at the Penny Black in Kidderminster followed on July 11 during which £500 was stolen from one of the gaming machines. A torch was found which linked Heathcock via DNA.

A further burglary at the Penny Black followed on August 28. Damage and loss of earnings as a result of the break-in was placed at £3,120. No figure was supplied for the theft of any cash.

In interview Heathcock told police they would find no CCTV or forensic information to link him to the burglaries before giving 'no comment' answers to other police questions.

Miss Nagesh said the offences were aggravated by an element of ransacking of gaming machines and one of the pubs had been forced to close because of the extent of the damage.

Heathcock has 61 theft and like offences on his record, including 15 burglaries.

Miss Nagesh said: "The most recent offending seems to be sexual."

On March 16, 2015 he was jailed for three and a half years - made up of 12 months for a burglary, two years for a sexual offence and six months for handling stolen goods.

The Kidderminster Shuttle, a sister paper of the Worcester News, reported at the time how Heathcock tried to contact schoolgirls on the internet after his release from prison, breaching his indefinite sexual offenders protection order.

He also admitted handling a £13,000 BMW that had been stolen in a raid on a house in the Worcester area.

Anthony Cook, defending, said Heathcock had pleaded guilty to three of the four burglaries on November 24 last year but that this has not proved acceptable to the crown and he had since admitted the fourth.

He accepted the burglaries were 'high culpability' and stressed that the torch with Heathcock's DNA was not found in the pub he attacked.

"He committed the offences for financial gain. There are no drugs issues" said Mr Cook.

Judge Daniel Pearce-Higgins QC jailed Heathcock for two years.

This sentence will be served concurrently to the one he is already serving after he was recalled to prison on his three and a half year sentence.