A burglary gang who targeted mansions in the early hours of the morning stealing jewellery, cash and Ferraris, Porsches and Mini Coopers to the tune of £1million were jailed yesterday for a total of 17 years.

The trio admitted 21 burglaries, targeting multi-million pound homes across London including in Wimbledon, Kingston, Wandsworth and in Hertfordshire and Surrey, often when residents were on holiday.

Police were alerted to the gang in July last year when they broke into a £2.6million house next to the All England Lawn Tennis Club in Somerset Road, Wimbledon.

The house was searched messily after a forced entry through the back window and the keys to a £30,000 Porsche Cayenne and a £20,000 Mini Cooper were stolen along with £13,000 of jewellery and electrical items.

Homeowners had to foot a £13,000 repair bill.

CCTV from the Lawn Tennis Association showed images of the offenders and a vehicle they used. This had been hired by Mohamed Alam, 26, of Clifton Gardens, Uxbridge, to commit the offence.

A painting worth £48,500 and a personalised Ferarri costing £280,000 was taken from a house in Roedean Crescent, Putney along with a matching Porsche Cayenne valued at £130,000.

The trio clocked up a total of 21 offences and were charged with conspiracy to commit burglary which they admitted.

In another burglary in Pleasant View, Kingston Hill last July, the back patio doors were forced open while the homeowners were away and the alarm system was damaged. Jewellery worth £8,600 was taken along with £1,400 in foreign currency.

Three homes in Arthur Road, Wimbledon, were targeted between December 2013 and July last year, with damage caused to front doors and property worth £500 being taken as part of one incident.

In Longwood Drive, Putney, offenders used similar tactics to break into the seven bedroom £4.5million home. £2,000 of damage was caused and jewellery and other valuables worth £38,700 were taken.

A Porsche Cayenne worth £75,000 was stolen from the driveway.

Police officers from Merton burglary squad found the trio would force entry into properties and if they found a safe they would steal it.

They were undeterred by security measures, disabling alarm systems and CCTV cameras.

Sayed Juied, 32, of Walterton Road, Westminster, was sentenced to six years and six months, Mohammed Alam, 26, of Clifton Gardens, Uxbridge, was sentenced to five years and Sadek Miah, 31, of Ashmore Road, Westminster, was sentenced to six years.

All three admitted conspiracy to commit burglary and were jailed on Wednesday at Kingston Crown Court.

Detective Sergeant Dan Mitchell, from Merton burglary team, said: "I hope these convictions serve as a warning to anyone looking to commit crime on this borough.

"The Metropolitan Police Service takes the offence of burglary very seriously and will do everything within their power to target burglary offenders and bring them to justice."