A 55-YEAR-OLD burglar who was caught red-handed on a pre-Christmas crime spree has been jailed for three years.

Unemployed Lloyd Hurst, of no fixed abode, was spotted on December 22 last year at around 6.56pm acting suspiciously in David's Road, Forest Hill.

When they heard a window smash, the witness called police.

Officers arrived to find Hurst inside the living room and gave chase as he ran off, leaping a garden fence to escape.

When police caught him they recovered a number of stolen items, along with goods taken during an earlier burglary at Bishopsthorpe Road, Sydenham.

Hurst admitted two counts of burglary at Woolwich Crown Court on March 1.

Detective Constable Will Lewis from Lewisham Burglary Squad said: "Hurst is a prolific burglar and would still be out committing this offence if not for the eagle-eyed member of the public who spotted him and his swift arrest by officers."