A PROLIFIC burglar who raided homes in Redditch has been jailed for 32 months.

Dominic O’Sullivan, aged 25, of Ibstock Close, Redditch admitted two charges of burglary.

The charges related to break-ins in Bodenham Close, Redditch, overnight between July 10 and 11 in which a television worth £200, a laptop computer worth £200, and purse containing 200 Euros were stolen, and in Goodrich Close, Redditch, during the early hours of July 17 in which he reached in through an insecure window and took the car keys to an Audi A3, worth £15,000, and then stole the vehicle from off the drive.

O’Sullivan asked for a further 14 burglaries and attempted burglaries which happened between March and July 2012 to be taken into consideration.

He was jailed by Recorder Rachel Brand QC sitting at Worcester Crown Court on Thursday, February 7.

Detective Sergeant Martin Grant of West Mercia Police said: “O’Sullivan is a prolific burglar, who typically targeted homes while the occupants were asleep in bed.

“Most of the burglaries were in Winyates, where he lived, and he committed many of the offences within weeks or even days of each other during a period from May to July. It is likely he took advantage of the warm weather to target properties where doors and windows had been left open or unlocked.

“Burglaries are extremely distressing and victims are particularly traumatised when their homes are broken into at night while they are asleep in bed.

“However O’Sullivan’s co-operation in admitting to a number of other burglaries and attempted burglaries enabled us to detect offences which may otherwise have remained unsolved, and we hope this gives the victims a measure of closure.”

DS Grant added that the case demonstrated the importance of keeping doors and easily accessible windows secure, even on warm summer nights.

Reducing burglaries is a priority for West Mercia Police, and Citadel, an initiative launched by the force in September involving the deployment of a range of operational tactics to catch burglars and a targeted crime prevention advice campaign, is continuing.