A 'DEVIOUS' burglar has been jailed and banned from door to door sales for a string of offences in Bournemouth.

Kevin Arthur Appleby, 47, of Wimborne Road, Bournemouth was given a prison sentence of four years and six months following a series of raids between March 2019 and June 2020.

He pleaded guilty to eight counts of burglary, fraud and possession of a controlled drug of class A. He was also made the subject of a criminal behaviour order that is in place for 15 years and prohibits him from going door to door knocking for business. He can place a leaflet through the letter box or door offering his services.

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His offences included calling at the door of an elderly woman in Bingham Road in October 2019 and offering to fix her guttering for £20.

Appleby entered the property uninvited while the victim went to get money out of her purse. He distracted the victim by asking questions about the gutter, before he left the address via the back door and said he would return the next day to complete the work.

The victim later discovered that her purse containing £110 in cash was missing, as well as two Dewalt drills and two model planes from a shed at the property.

Appleby also targeted an elderly man in Malvern Road, first claiming he was checking for flood damage and then telling him he needed repairs to his roof.

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A total of £120 was stolen during doing unwanted visits.

Another incident occurred in Heathwood Road when an elderly woman answered her door to Appleby, who stated he needed access to her rear garden as he was carrying out repairs next door. He was in the garden for around five minutes before returning to the door to ask for a glass of water.

When the victim returned with the glass, he had already entered the house and was in the lounge. He gave her a note with his contact details on and these details were later linked to Appleby. He returned the following day to continue carrying out work and the victim noticed that cash had been stolen from her property.

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There were further similar incidents in Edgehill Road and in Boscombe

Detective Constable Michelle Lawrence, of Dorset Police, said: “Appleby persistently targeted elderly residents and made them believe they needed repair work to be carried out to their houses.

“He was devious in his behaviour and purposefully targeted vulnerable members of our community over a prolonged period of time.

“I am pleased that through our investigation we were able to identify Appleby as the culprit and bring him to justice.

“I would also urge residents to be wary of letting anyone they don’t know into their home as sadly there are always offenders such as Appleby who will take advantage of others.”