A DISTRACTION burglar who targeted pensioners in their 90s for petty cash has been jailed for 12 years.
Kevin Gamble, 53, told his victims he was collecting for charity and sold household goods door-to-door in order to steal tens of pounds of cash from homes.
A 98-year-old man, from Arnold, who Gamble targeted twice in the space of a few weeks in January and February, was among those targeted.
Gamble was caught when Operation Liberal, the national distraction burglary intelligence unit, linked the Arnold incident with another distraction burglary in Langley, West Midlands, through a similarity in clothing worn by the thief.
Physical descriptions, information about Gamble's movements and forensic evidence was used to reveal Gamble's involvement.
Detective superintendent Jane Bestwick, of Beeston CID, said: "Kevin Gamble was clearly a threat to elderly people and it is possible that he may have committed other offences here. He claimed that we had the wrong man, so it was essential we could prove his guilt beyond doubt.
"Initially he was charged with five offences, but denied two of them. However, the evidence we had collated in conjunction with Operation Liberal was such that he was compelled to admit his guilt for the other three.
"This prison sentence should be welcome news for people living in our community, particularly the elderly, who are so often the victims of unscrupulous individuals like Kevin Gamble."
Gamble was tracked down to a hotel in Northwich, Cheshire, where Cheshire Police made an arrest in April.
He was returned to Notts for questioning and subsequently charged.
Since 1979 Gamble, formerly of Costock Avenue, Sherwood, has been convicted of more than 30 burglaries.
He was jailed for 12 years at Nottingham Crown Court on Thursday July 11 for his most recent burglaries.
