A man who stole bank cards and jewellery from a home while the owners slept upstairs has been jailed for five years.

It follows a police investigation into three break-ins at homes in Great Yarmouth between August 2021 and September 2022.

Craig Clucas, 39, of no fixed abode, appeared before Norwich Crown Court on Wednesday, November 30, for sentencing after pleading guilty at an earlier hearing to three counts of burglary, two counts of fraud by false representation and two counts of theft.

In one incident Clucas stole jewellery from a home before selling it using a fake name and address.

A neighbour managed to take a photo of him leaving the property which officers used to identify him.

Some of the jewellery was seized and returned to the owner.

On a separate occasion, he stole bags containing bank cards, electrical items and jewellery from another home in the area while the occupants were asleep upstairs.

The victims were alerted shortly after when Clucas used the cards to withdraw cash prompting security messages to be sent to their phones.

He was identified by officers using CCTV.

Clucas was sentenced to five years in prison for these six offences, with three other offences taken into consideration at court under Operation Converter.

The other offences include an attempted break-in at a shop in St Peter’s Road on Monday, September 12, attempted fraud at the same shop on Tuesday, September 13, and the theft of a charity box from a business in Marine Parade on Monday, September 19.

Police staff supervisor Duncan Etchells from the newly created Operation Converter, TIC (Taken Into Consideration) Unit, said: "This sentence reflects the hard work of both the officers in Great Yarmouth who secured the initial charges and the Operation Converter team who secured Clucas’s TIC admissions.

"It means we are able to give closure and reassurance to all the victims in this case, and while he’s in prison, Clucas is unable to reoffend.

"Operation Converter is an initiative aimed at encouraging offenders to admit their crimes.

"This has benefits for all – police are able to give victims some peace of mind that an offender has been caught for the burglary of their home or the theft of their property and the individual has the opportunity to clear their slate, so they can have a fresh start when they are released from prison, without the possibility they will later be traced for a further offence.

"Offenders have to give sufficient detail for officers to be sure they have committed the crime and these offences are then 'taken into consideration' at sentencing."