TWO crooks who stole more than £50,000 worth of jewellery, computers, televisions and a car in a string of burglaries around North Somerset have been jailed.

Weston Mercury: Ean SinclairEan Sinclair (Image: Archant)

Roy Salisbury and Ean Sinclair targeted homes in Weston, Hutton and Clevedon, while Salisbury alone carried out further raids in Worle and Highbridge.

Both men were jailed by a Bristol Crown Court judge on Tuesday – and even after release, neither will be allowed to return to North Somerset for five years.

The judge reserved special praise for workers at Proper Job DIY store who alerted police to the two men after they were spotted buying what staff called a ‘burglary kit’.

Salisbury, aged 28, from Hayes in Middlesex, pleaded guilty to six counts of burglary after targeting homes in Bristol Road Lower and Worle Court, as well as one in Hutton, two in Clevedon and one in Highbridge.

All these crimes were carried out between January and March of this year.

He asked for a further 22 break-ins across the district to be taken into consideration when sentencing, and was jailed for three-and-a-half years.

Sinclair, aged 29, of Midford Road in Weston, was sentenced to three years behind bars after admitting his part in the Bristol Road Lower, Hutton and Clevedon burglaries.

At the conclusion of the case, investigating officer DC Phil Aspinall said he hoped the sentences would provide some closure for the people whose homes had been ransacked by the pair.

He said: “Between them, these men were responsible for causing 28 families the distress of having their homes broken into, their belongings gone through and often precious and irreplaceable items like jewellery taken.

“As a team, we’re now able to go back to each victim and tell them we’ve caught the men responsible. I hope this goes some way to helping them get over what has happened.”