A prolific burglar who tricked his way into a 97-year-old woman's house in Gravesend so he could steal cash from her mantelpiece has been jailed.

Martin Krok took advantage of the pensioner's kindness when he conned his way into her Darnley Road home on April 3 this year in order to steal £30.

The 26-year-old, formerly of Northfleet, was jailed for three-and-a-half years at Maidstone Crown Court on October 7 after he was found guilty of one count of burglary.

He had knocked on his victim's door in the early hours of the afternoon to ask if he could look in her garden for a piece of cloth he had lost.

She allowed him in and he peered into the garden, before announcing he could not find the cloth.

Krok then left and it was only after he had gone that his victim realised the cash was missing from her mantelpiece.

Officers from Kent Police's burglary squad examined the scene and found Krok's DNA, leading to his arrest and subsequent charge.

On October 7 he was jailed for an additional six months for an attempted burglary in Cobham Street in April and had two suspended sentences of six months each, which he received for two 2012 burglaries, invoked.

This meant Krok was sentenced to a total of four-and-a-half years in prison for four separate crimes.

Investigating officer Detective Constable Rob Sircar said: "Krok betrayed the trust of an elderly and vulnerable lady and stole a quantity of cash she dearly needed.

"His despicable actions left her distressed and confused, and have damaged her ability to trust strangers.

"Krok has been a prolific burglar in the Gravesend area in the past few years and it should bring some measure of comfort to his victims that he will be spending the foreseeable future behind bars."