A PROLIFIC offender has been jailed for at least three years and banned from driving for at least five years.

Bradley Lengthorn, of Bartlow End, Basildon, has been jailed for three years and eight months and has been banned from driving for five years and 10 months.

Lengthorn was arrested in September last year in connection with the thefts of several vehicles over the course of the previous five months.

During the previous May, a Suzuki motorbike, a Citroen C1, a Mercedes S Class, a Range Rover Sport were taken from address in Basildon, and a Peugeot 307 was taken from an address in Laindon in September.

He was identified by a witness as being part of one of four men seen with the motorbike shortly after it was stolen, his fingerprints were found inside the Citroen, Mercedes, and Peugeot when they were recovered, and he was found inside the Range Rover when officers located it.

He was arrested in September last year and charged with two counts of taking a vehicle without consent, burglary, theft, and two counts of handling stolen goods.

He admitted two counts of handling stolen goods but denied the other offences at Basildon Crown Court on 3 February.