A TOP police officer and a church pastor called for clemency on behalf of a thief who has spent more than half of his life behind bars.

Detective Chief Inspector David Brown, who is in charge of Hampshire Constabulary's Western CID unit, wrote to a judge sitting at Bournemouth Crown Court after serial offender Christopher Maggs - also known as Christopher Woodcock - admitted burgling homes in the New Forest.

The officer was moved to pen a letter to the court after Maggs admitted his involvement in a spate of thefts, and even showed police where many of the stolen items were.

In the note, DCI Brown wrote: "[Maggs] has shown real remorse and been brutally frank about [his offending]."

Senior pastor Gary Conway of Cranleigh Community Church in Southbourne also spoke for the defendant, of Christchurch Road in Bournemouth.

Calling Maggs "engaging and open", Mr Conway said: "He has expressed a desire to move forward in a more positive way".

And a barrister mitigating for the 40-year-old asked for him to be spared an immediate jail term so he could receive treatment for a long-standing drug addiction.

Peter Asteris said Maggs has received little support on a previous release from prison, and was unable to receive benefits as he has no bank account and no fixed address.

"Since he was a teen he has been in an endless cycle of addiction, which leads to offences, which leads to incarceration," he said.

Victim impact statements were read aloud to the court, in which homeowners burgled by Maggs spoke of their "fear" that their properties may have been watched.

One said: "He terrifies people and makes good honest working people feel uncomfortable in their own homes."

Another said Maggs had been through underwear drawers and even turned out trouser pockets in his hunt for valuables.

"It hit my like a tonne of bricks," she added.

Judge Peter Johnson said the defendant, 40, had "preyed on the householders of the New Forest, leaving a trail of heartbreak and fear".

"You have a long record containing many, many convictions for dwelling house burglary," he told Maggs.

The defendant, who admitted two offences of burglary and asked for 11 more to be taken into consideration, was sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison.