A gold thief has been jailed for targeting homes in West Derby and Widnes while hunting for expensive jewellery.
George Price was sentenced to four years and eight months after being convicted of raids on three homes last year.
A detective involved with the case described his daylight burglaries as "abhorrent".
Price broke into a West Derby home on September 4, 2019, and made off with jewellery and cash.
The 29-year-old returned to West Derby four days later but he and his accomplices fled empty-handed after being disturbed by his intended victims.
On October 11 he broke into a home in Widnes and searched it, but did not take anything.
Merseyside Police believe he was targeting "high-value jewellery items".
Price, of Ainsley Street in the Newton Heath area of Manchester, was jailed earlier this week for three counts of burglary.
Speaking after the sentencing, Detective Inspector Steve Ball said: "It is pleasing to see that Price has been dealt with this week, and this should act as a strong deterrent to anyone else who would consider targeting homes in such an abhorrent way.
"These offences took place during the day and caused a great deal of distress to all the victims but hopefully the verdict offers some comfort.
"If you do keep valuable jewellery or other items in your home, there are some steps you can take to make yourself and your home more secure."
Merseyside Police advise:
- Remove jewellery from your house altogether
- Keep all gold, jewellery and other valuables in a safety deposit box
- If you would prefer to keep gold and jewellery at home, buy a safe, which complies with official insurance rating standards and is secured to a wall or to the floor
- List your phone as ex-directory
- Take photos and keep a list of all valuable property in a safe place, including make, model description and value
- Forensically mark items of value which offer a hi-tech way of linking your property to your address, options available are – Selecta DNA / Smartwater
- Consider your online privacy settings and password strength on any social media platforms and be aware of anything that may identify that you are away from your home, or that you store high-value items at home
- Do not post that you are away from home on holiday or business until you return, including photos
Further advice on keeping your home secure can be found here.
*Police advise to always call 999 if a burglary is in progress. Anyone with information on burglaries is asked to contact Merseyside Police's dedicated hotline and email address on 0151 777 7926 or operation.castle@merseyside.pnn.police.uk
