A SERIAL thief who burgled numerous homes in his own village “preyed on elderly female victims”.

Graham Crutch, of Longore, in Stonesfield, near Witney, was caught after burgling a property in Church Street in the village.

The 21-year-old took £200 in cash and credit cards from the house on May 17.

He was jailed at Oxford Crown Court on Friday after earlier admitting burglary and asking for a dozen other local offences to be taken into consideration.

Crutch confessed to nine burglaries, a theft and two counts of taking a vehicle without consent.

Crutch’s crime spree began in June last year when he broke into the Stonesfield Sports and Social Club in Longore and stole £64 from gaming machines.

A month later he entered a house in Church Fields in the village, causing £50 of damage and making off with vehicle keys.

On July 26, he broke into a garage in Stonesfield High Street, but was disturbed and fled leaving a bike behind.

The following day he moved on to neighbouring Combe and entered a house in Akeman Street. He was again disturbed but got away with a handbag and contents valued at £281.99.

On October 7, Crutch was back in Church Fields in Stonesfield, to steal a car.

Three weeks later he broke into Smarts fish and chip shop in Oxford Road, Woodstock, and stole a wallet and car keys before taking the vehicle. It was later found abandoned.

A few days later, on November 1, Crutch burgled a home in Greenfield Road, Stonesfield, and took two sets of keys and a handbag from the kitchen. He then stole one of the vehicles, which was later recovered.

In April this year, he stole a vehicle from the drive of a house in Hunts Close in the village and abandoned it soon after.

A month later, Crutch broke into Burditch Hall in Wootton, near Woodstock, and took cash, alcohol and sweets valued at £140.

The next day, he pulled into another driveway in Stonesfield, this time in The Tewer, on a motorbike and stole a mobile phone, charger and CDs from a parked car.

Less than a week later, he burgled a property in The Ridings, Stonesfield, and took the contents of a handbag, including a mobile phone, bank cards and keys.

That same day he moved to Pumbro in the village to commit yet another burglary, this time taking car keys from a kitchen drawer before taking the vehicle and abandoning it in Stonesfield.

Recorder John Benson jailed Crutch for 39 months and ordered him to pay £200 in compensation from money already seized by police.

Dc Kevin Middlecote, who led the investigation, said: “I am sure this will be a relief for the village as a whole that he is safely behind bars.”