A BURGLAR, who has been described as a "one man crime wave", has been jailed for two years for a series of break-ins in Salisbury.

David Leslie Clift, 41, of no fixed abode, Salisbury, was sentenced at Salisbury Crown Court on Wednesday after pleading guilty to attempted burglary and five counts of burglary.

Inspector Pete Sparrow said: “As the judge said in court, Clift was a one man crime wave, he continued to attack premises with determination but on every occasion, he left behind an item of clothing or an item used to gain access to the buildings, which helped us link each incident and trace them back to Clift.

“In most of the incidents, he caused substantial damage to premises, especially at the church where the damage was estimated to cost in excess of £4,000.

“His actions are totally unacceptable and have caused a lot of distress and upset to a number of victims. We will not tolerate this behaviour and will leave no stone unturned in investigating crimes of this nature."

On July 4, he broke into a home in Harcourt Terrace. Although nothing was stolen, the homeowner found a baseball cap inside the living room which was a DNA match to Clift.

Prior to this All Saints Church was broken into in May and £30 was stolen from the flower fund. The damage caused to the building cost more than £4,000. And overnight on June 5 and 6, St Gregory’s Church Hall was broken into and a number of items stolen including alcohol, cash and damage worth approximately £1,500 was caused. Hammers with DNA matching Clift’s were found at the premises.

A safe and till float containing £230 was stolen from The WokWow noodle bar in Horne Road on June 15. A woolly hat found to match Clift’s DNA was located and seized from the scene.

On June 25-26 a television was taken from Salisbury Lawn Tennis Club - £1,500 worth of damage was caused to doors and shutters.

And on June 27, Speedyprint was broken into via a skylight and several consoles and games as well as cash were stolen.