Lloyd Ernest Edwards, 35 of Cherry Orchard Road, Croydon has been sentenced to two years five months in prison after pleading guilty to multiple burglary offences.

Officers were alerted to two burglaries in October last year, one of which was at the Carrington School in Redhill.

Staff contacted the police on Monday, 25 October to report that the staff canteen area had been broken into, with a wallet and a mobile phone being stolen. Edwards was seen on CCTV cycling away from the school before being caught using the bank cards at two local shops.

A few days later, on the Friday, 29 October a residential burglary was reported at a property on Keats Avenue in Redhill. The victim was at the address and approached by Edwards who was loitering around the property before stealing her handbag containing her bank cards and lottery tickets. Edwards is then caught on CCTV again, using the victim’s cards at more local shops including JD-Sports. He was swiftly identified by an officer and was arrested a few days later wearing the same clothing he was seen in on the CCTV footage. As well as this, Edwards was found to be in possession of the same lottery tickets stolen from the second victim.

Edwards pleaded guilty to Residential Burglary, Non-Residential Burglary and five counts of Fraud by False Representation. He appeared at Guildford Crown Court on Monday, 4 April where he was sentenced to two years and five months imprisonment.

Following the sentencing PC Joseph Brown, from Surrey Police’s Local Proactive Unit said “Edwards was a prolific burglar who went out of his way to target residential and non-residential premises to steal from the public.

“Not only was he brazen enough to steal from one victim in their workplace and the other in their home, but he went on a spending spree with their bank cards.

“We were committed to bringing Edwards to justice and seeing him convicted and sentenced. We appreciate that for people in Surrey, burglary is concerning and affects victims who have to pick up the pieces.”