A burglar who was part of a gang that targeted upmarket homes in Wolverhampton has been jailed for three years.

Richard Alexander was caught red-handed by police after the thieves raided two houses in the Compton area, where they stole expensive electronic equipment and car keys.

The 32-year-old was spotted with another man carrying a large-screen television set by police after the owners of one property heard noises and dialled 999. Other stolen property was found inside Alexander’s car.

It contained items that had been taken in other burglaries in the area, Wolverhampton Crown Court heard.

Mr Stuart Burrows, prosecuting, said the break-ins took place on the night of July 11-12 last year.

The gang took a television set, laptop computer, two digital cameras, two mobile phones, a set of car keys, a handbag and its contents from a house in Water Dale, Compton.

They struck again in neighbouring Horsehills Drive, less than a quarter of a mile away, where they stole another television, a mobile phone, two sets of car keys, a handbag and a purse.

Alexander, of South Crescent, Featherstone, admitted two burglary charges and two further counts of handling stolen property. The court heard he had had 11 previous convictions for breaking into residential properties.

Judge Nicholas Webb told him: “These burglaries were committed by a group of people at night and it is inevitable to conclude they targeted high quality homes.”

He said an aggravating feature of the case was that it involved a gang and that, in one of the break-ins, the householder had been asleep, while in the other, the gang had woken up the owners of the house upstairs who were quick to call police.

The latest West Midlands Police figures reveal there were 166 house burglaries across Wolverhampton in April. Car owners in Wolverhampton have been warned by police to hide their keys as car theft figures soar.