POLICE have applauded prison terms imposed on a burglar who struck at more than 30 homes in Crewe and Nantwich and on his brother who took part in some of the burglaries.

The Crewe pair were targeted by a team of detectives and arrested while they were trying to carry out a series of burglaries in the Nantwich Road area of Crewe.

Andrew Crimes , 29, who was living in Brookfield Court when he was arrested, was jailed for three-and-a-half years at Mold Crown Court.

He admitted one charge of burglary, three charges of attempted burglary and had 33 other burglary charges taken into account.

His brother, Stephen Crimes, 31, of Ford Lane, was jailed for four years after being convicted of one charge of burglary and three charges of attempted burglary.

He was also ordered to serve another year of a previous sentence for breaching a prison licence order. He denied the charges but was found guilty after a three-day trial.

The court was told Andrew Crimes specialised in sneaking into homes through unlocked doors.

Detective Constable Dave Eden said: 'The burglaries were carried out in houses all across Crewe and Nantwich while people were asleep upstairs. He toured round at night, trying doors until he found one that was open and simply walked in.

'In some cases people thought they had locked the door by lifting the handle but hadn't actually turned the key. We would always recom-mend people to make sure their doors are locked and secure before they go to bed.

'A substantial amount of money and property was stolen. The sentences will make a substantial difference to our attempts to combat burglary in this area.

PC John Marsden added: 'This was yet another example of ourselves and the public working together against criminals.

'We had a substantial amount of help from people in the form of information and a call about a suspicious vehicle played a major part in helping us to make the arrests.'