A SERIAL burglar ransacked a nursery school and stole a car, cash, mobile phones and computer equipment.

Darren Jones, 30, broke into Bourne Valley Nursery on August 31, 2015, smashing the fire exit of a mobile building.

He stole a tablet computer, two cameras, a notebook computer and a pair of waterproof trousers. And he stole a large number of tools from a shed, before also raiding a log cabin, stealing around £500 in cash, eight tablet computers, a digital radio and three phones.

He also took a Honda Stream, which he used as a getaway car. It was later found in Assisi Road, Salisbury.

Blood found at the nursery matched Jones’s DNA.

Prosecuting, Dawn Hyland told Salisbury Crown Court on Friday Jones had deliberately targeted the nursery as “easy prey”. He was also convicted of handling a stolen car.

A policeman spotted Jones and his ex-girlfriend Lea Dennett- Cruse, 27, in a Volvo at the BP garage in London Road on August 11, unaware it had been stolen from Penton on Churchfields Industrial Estate in Salisbury the day before.

The car was later recovered on September 8 with new number plates, which had Jones’s finger prints on the back.

Jones – who has 29 convictions for 96 offences, including burglary, theft and robbery – also burgled Caffe Nero in Silver Street on June 12.

He and Andrew Parr, of Sassoon Close, Salisbury, forced several doors, covered a CCTV camera and threw a safe containing almost £2,300 out of the window. Parr, also a serial burglar, was jailed in September.

Defending, Mike Pulsford said Jones, a homeless drug addict, had served numerous prison terms and knew jail was inevitable.

Sentencing him to three years in prison, Judge Susan Evans QC said Jones had an “appalling record”, adding: “Dishonesty is just a way of life for you.”

He will spend 18 months in prison and the remainder out on licence.

Defending Dennett-Cruse, David Reed said the mother-oftwo had been stupid to allow herself to be carried in the stolen car. She was fined £300 and banned from driving for six months.