A MAN who committed seven burglaries over a five-week period across the New Forest has been jailed for three years.

Zachary Southern, 27 and of no fixed abode, struck across the district including in Lymington, Brockenhurst, Marchwood and Dibden Purlieu.

He was sentenced at Southampton Crown Court on July 5 for his spree of offending, which was committed over the winter months.

The court heard Southern began his crime spree on Friday, December 18, 2020 when a garage in Beaulieu Road in Dibden Purlieu was broken into and a number of bikes and a paddleboard were stolen.

Bournemouth Echo: Zachary SouthernZachary Southern

He then proceeded to burgle a house in Woodside Close in Marchwood between Sunday, January 3, and Monday, January 4, where electrical items. A bike was also stolen from a shed the same morning from a property on Spindlewood Way in Marchwood.

He continued his offending a week later when a garage on Kings Road in Lymington was broken into and a number of tools and a high-value bike were stolen.

The offending stopped after a number of properties on Woodlands Road in Brockenhurst were broken into between Tuesday, January 12, and Wednesday, January 13, where items including a bike, inflatable kayak and an outboard engine were stolen.

Southern pleaded guilty to seven counts of burglary and was handed a sentence of three years' imprisonment.

Bournemouth Echo: He was jailed at Southampton Crown CourtHe was jailed at Southampton Crown Court

Following the sentencing, Hampshire Constabulary officer Charlie Buckingham, of the force's western operation hawk team, said: “I welcome this sentence and hope it goes some way to providing closure for the victims.

"The distress that crimes like this can cause victims is immeasurable.

“We hope that this provides reassurance to local communities that we take crimes like this very seriously and investigate all available lines of enquiry to identify those responsible and bring them to justice.

“Southern survived on committing these crimes until we were able to apprehend him and put a stop to his offending – he will now no longer be able to be a threat to the local communities of the New Forest.”