IT'S rare that a couple of hand drawn pictures of a piece of stolen jewellery can lead police straight to capturing a burglar.

But combined with a distinctive bottle of wine, a pretty patterned bag and a few pairs of ladies knickers, the images proved to be worth their weight in gold when it came to closing the net on serial thief Shaun Millard.

It was at the end of September last year when officers based at Hulse Road took a report of a break-in at a house in Bitterne. Inside a 17-year-old girl was awoken from her sleep by the sound of the front door being smashed open.

As she made her way downstairs she could see the silhouette of a man walking away from her home, where she lived with her parents who were out at the time.

A check round the house found that a number of unusual items had vanished - including a bottle of wine, a small bag and a pair of the girl's knickers. A heart shaped pendant that was to play a central part in tracing Millard had also disappeared.

The burglary took place late on the same night that Millard had earlier met a woman in a pub and the couple had returned to her house in Woolston.

But back at the house, Millard, 58, had made his excuses and left for an hour - as it later turned out to carry out the break-in.

A short time later he returned, carrying a bag, a bottle of wine with a distinctive bell bottom shape, and a pendant which he gave to the woman.

But once again Millard left after the couple began to row. A week later she also claimed she had been burgled and among the haul was the very same pendant she had been given a week earlier.

The victim called police to report the alleged raid and told them her pendant was missing - and also pairs of her knickers.

She told them of a man she had met called "Shaun" and sketched the necklace and bag.

With matching drawings and a solid description of Millard, officers at the burglary unit began looking for their man - eventually tracing him to an address belonging to his friend where he had been staying.

On licence for a three year term for burglary committed in London and investigated by officers in the Met Police, Millard was found inside the house when police paid him a visit but refused to open the door.

After polite requests through the letterbox the door was eventually forced and Millard was apprehended and arrested.

Inside they found his canvass holdall bag - and at the bottom inside a ripped compartment, several pairs of ladies knickers.

After pleading guilty to one charge of burglary at a dwelling, Millard told of his remorse for the first time in the form of a letter to Southampton Crown Court.

Recorder Ivor Weintroub told him: "As you say in your letter to me, there is no excuse for what you did. You got yourself drunk, broke into a house at night and took personal items. That's an aggravating factor the court cannot ignore. I hope because of your age and health, you may reflect on the time you will have to serve and your history of criminology."

Millard was jailed for three-and-a-half years and also ordered to serve the rest of his outstanding time for a previous conviction.

Detective Sergeant Paul Gelman said the case of Millard was one of the more unusual.

"When we arrested him he gave false details. He actually also said himself that he had been burgling longer than the investigating officers had been alive.

"He is quite clearly a serial thief who shows little or no remorse for his victims. He would have continued committing crimes in the Southampton area but we caught him very quickly. We have a commitment to ensure that offenders are caught quickly and that victims of crime receive the best service. I think we have achieved that."