A Romanian man accused of 31 burglaries across London, Kent and Essex has been sentenced to eight years in prison today (May 29) after leaving his DNA or fingerprints at every scene.

On April 15 unemployed Constantin-Tiberiu Gheorge, 39, a Romanian national of no fixed address, was arrested in Barking town centre on suspicion of a series of residential burglaries.

Throughout the series of crimes a single DNA profile continued to appear at the scenes.

In most cases the suspect would leave DNA behind in the form of blood, but in some cases it was fingerprints. At an address in Kent the suspect left DNA and fingerprints.

Despite having the suspect's DNA profile and fingerprints, officers could not identify him as he did not appear on their database.

The linked series was allocated to a specialist detection team where officers completed a review of the cases and analysis of all the information available. As a result Gheorge was identified as a suspect.

On May 20 Gheorge pleaded guilty to 31 burglary offences at Snaresbrook Crown Court.

Detective Sergeant Brett Hagen, from the detections team, said: "Gheorge has to be one of the most prolific and yet one of the most careless burglars I have encountered.

"He has committed numerous offences across London, Kent and Essex with a blatant disregard for the victims and police alike.

"It is worth considering that for every one of these offences there was at least one victim who had to deal with the effects of becoming a victim of crime and where burglary is concerned the lasting effects run far deeper than a loss of property.”