A DUBLINER who “preyed on the elderly” in a string of burglaries across London this summer has been jailed for eight years.
John Connors, 41, tricked his way into his victims’ homes by claiming to be from the ‘water board’.
He would then distract his victims before grabbing their valuables and cash.
Many of the people he stole from were aged between 76 and 92 years and suffered from physical disabilities. Two of them were blind.
Connors, of no fixed abode, pleaded guilty to eight counts of residential burglary and three attempted burglaries at Isleworth Crown Court on Tuesday, August 27.
He has been given an eight-year jail sentence for the offences.
"Connors is a 'career criminal' who preyed on the elderly to steal from them,” said Detective Constable Andy Griffin.
“The length of sentence reflects the risk that he posed."
A specialist police operation designed to catch the Irishman was set up after a spate of burglaries in East Acton and Hammersmith beginning on July 20.
Officers then identified Connors as the main suspect after making extensive CCTV enquiries.
But they did not arrest him until the early hours of August 11, following a 999 call to an attempted burglary.
