A BURGLAR who raided a Southampton house while the owners were sleeping has been jailed.

Gary Holness, 44, crept through the window of a home in Hartington Road and stole a laptop, a purse, a wallet, credit cards, and cash.

The victims only realised what had happened when they woke up and noticed the items missing.

Holness then used the stolen credit cards to buy alcohol from a petrol station on Northam Road.

In February this year, a month after the first incident, Holness smashed the window of a flat on Northam Road and took a PlayStation 3 and a mobile phone.

He was eventually arrested on suspicion of burgling two stores in Boscombe, Bournemouth, in March.

Police launched an investigation and discovered DNA and fingerprints at the victims' homes in Southampton.

PC Adrian Lugg from the Operation Hawk Team based at Southampton Central Police Station said: “Operation Hawk is dedicated to protecting you, your homes and your property.

"If you commit burglary in our towns and cities, and even those that neighbour us, we will ensure that you are taken off of our streets and put before the courts.”

Holness, of no fixed abode, pleaded guilty to burglary and was jailed for four years.