A 'PROLIFIC burglar' from Stroud has been sentenced to a year in prison for a series of break-ins in Stroud and Cirencester.

Michael Desmond King, of London Road in Stroud, was arrested on Thursday last week and charged the next day with three burglaries.

The 37-year-old appeared at Cheltenham Magistrates' Court on Saturday where he pleaded guilty and received two six-month sentences to run consecutively, and a four-month concurrent sentence for his offences.

King stole cash from Bensons for Beds in Cirencester in May; laptops, mobile phones and cash from Ecotricity in Stroud in May; and cash and two Samsung Galaxy tablets from Perry Bishop and Leaders estate agents in Stroud in June.

Detective Inspector Gemma Davies said: "King is a prolific burglar who's been causing real disruption and distress to businesses in the area.

"He had recently received a community order for a burglary so when he was arrested our officers here in the criminal investigation unit interviewed him swiftly, submitted evidence to the Crown Prosecution Service and got him charged.

"Justice was then swiftly dispensed by magistrates in Cheltenham and King has been taken off our streets for a considerable period, so I am sure that will reassure the community and show how the judicial system can work quickly to protect the public."