Burglar Anthony Murray sentenced

Man who stole nearly £700,000 worth of goods on a Surrey 'crime spree' sentenced to five years in prison

A prolific Surrey burglar has been sentenced to five years in prison.

Anthony Murray, of Purley Way, Croydon, was sentenced on Tuesday (August 26) at Lewes Crown Court, having earlier admitted two charges of burglary, and asking for a further 102 to be taken into consideration.

The 31-year-old's crime spree extended across the whole county and to its borders with high value jewellery and electronic items regularly on his list.

Earlier this month two property open days held at Caterham Police Station helped reunite 30 victims with their stolen items.

One of those victims with a happy ending included a woman who reclaimed a pair of earrings given to her by her grandmother on her 16th birthday.

Murray was brought to justice after a burglary at a farm in the Worth area of Crawley, West Sussex in which thousands of pounds of jewellery was stolen.

A CCTV image of Murray showed him at the rural premises on the afternoon of 10 April this year. It showed Murray entering the property and a car at the site which he had recently brought on the internet.

The other burglary he admitted to took place at a property in Woodplace Lane, Coulsdon on 25 April last year when jewellery, electrical items and fishing equipment was taken.

Officers later discovered a large haul of stolen items at his address linking him to the crimes.

After being charged with those two offences, a further 102 burglaries dating back to March 2010 and relating to addresses in all areas of the county, were taken into consideration. Those crimes all involved high value jewellery and electrical items being taken.

Detective Sergeant Lee Hazell said: "Anthony Murray is a career criminal who we are pleased to see off the streets given his high level of offending in and around our county.

"The sentence handed to him reflects just how serious an impact his crime spree had on his victims who lost nearly £700,000 worth of goods as a result.

"It is all the more pleasing as we have been able to return some of the stolen items to their rightful owners."