A SERIAL burglar was nabbed by police after only changing one of the licence plates on a stolen car.

William Connors, of Shaftesbury Way, Hayes, in Middlesex, admitted carrying out seven break-ins and one attempted burglary during March last year.

Oxford Crown Court heard Connors, 20, pictured, also admitted one offence of handling stolen goods, one of aggravated vehicle taking, driving without a licence and failing to stop after a road accident in August.

Timothy Boswell, prosecuting, said Connors burgled two Bicester homes in The Oval, one in Orchard Way, and attempted to break into a George Street.

He also targeted houses in Aylesbury and High Wycombe, stealing digital cameras, laptops, iPads and jewellery on August 26, then crashed a stolen black Ford Focus into a Honda after a police chase near his home.

The court heard Connors replaced one of the car’s number plates with a stolen one, but left the other plate on, causing the police to realise the car was stolen. Connors was on bail at the time and had 35 previous convictions.

Judge Mary Jane Mowat told Connors that he had the “gall” to commit the driving offence en route to sign on for benefits and had been “stupid” to only replace one numberplate.

She said: “These were all planned burglaries and high value items were taken. I regard the theft of laptops as especially serious because stealing these items causes a serious degree of loss to their owners.”

He was sentenced to 42 months in prison and told to pay a £120 victims’ surcharge.