A Croydon man who stole victims’ cars while they were on the phone with police after he had burgled their homes has been jailed.

Tristram Spencer, of Watney Close in Purley, has been jailed for seven years after a string of crimes in Surrey.

The 35-year-old appeared at Guildford Crown Court on Friday after pleading guilty to multiple offences.

The first burglary occurred on January 1, 2021, at a home in Diceland Road in Banstead.

The victims returned home and noticed that their Jaguar XFR car was missing from the driveway.

When they entered their home, they found that the rear patio doors had been smashed in and a TV, car keys, Xbox, PlayStation, drone and luxury watches had been stolen from the property.

Whilst the victims were on phone reporting the crime to the police, a second vehicle that the victims had returned home in, was stolen.

Initially, police were unable to locate either of the vehicles.

Officers took swabs of blood which were on a door handle inside the home and examined CCTV which showed Spencer driving to and from the scene before returning to the house to steal the victims’ other vehicle.

He was arrested in February 2021 on suspicion of burglary, theft of motor vehicle and driving offences.

Spencer was bailed and later charged for these offences in August 2021.

Whilst awaiting trial for the previous burglary, on February 16, 2022, Spencer burgled another property in Fetcham.

The victim had returned to his home in School Lane to find the rear patio doors of his property had been smashed and his car keys, jewellery, sunglasses and a designer bag were missing.

In similar circumstances to the burglary in Banstead, whilst the man was on the phone reporting the incident to the police, Spencer watched his BMW being driven away.

This set of stolen car keys had a tracker attached to them which provided a live location to police.

Officers tracked the keys to an address in Beckenham where Spencer was inside the property and matched descriptions given by witnesses.

After being arrested Spencer said: “Do you want to retrieve their car?”

Police searched the address in Beckenham and found multiple stolen items including jewellery, the BMW key and even mail addressed to the victim of the Fetcham burglary.

The victim’s car was located the following day.

Spencer was charged with a further burglary, theft of motor vehicle and put into custody.

During court proceedings, Spencer admitted to being involved in two additional burglaries in Cobham and Slough which were taken into consideration in his sentencing.

On June 10 at Guildford Crown Court, Spencer was sentenced to seven years in prison.

Investigating Officer PC Joseph Brown said: “Spencer is the definition of a career criminal, who had no remorse for his victims.

“Having just caused devastation within the victim’s homes, he would brazenly return whilst the victims were reporting these crimes to steal what can only be described as their last financial asset from under their noses.

“He would make the journey to Surrey and Berkshire, specifically targeting properties, breaking into people’s homes, and taking anything of value he could get his hands on.

“Having been given an opportunity by the courts initially to consider the crimes he had committed in Banstead, he showed total disregard to the judicial system and the victim’s by continuing to offend.

“This has been a thorough investigation which has resulted in a substantial sentence, meaning a prolific burglar is off the streets.

“I would like to take this opportunity to thank colleagues and especially members of the public who came forward to provide us with vital information and CCTV which proved crucial in this case, which gave Spencer no option but to plead guilty to his crimes.”