A prolific burglar who raided numerous homes while the occupants slept upstairs has been jailed for five years and three months.

Matthew Reynolds, who a judge said has 'made a career of out stealing', was breaking into homes in Bradford on Avon and Trowbridge on an almost nightly basis in August and September last year.

Swindon Crown Court heard today how the 38-year-old father-of-two was caught after a glove with his DNA on was found at a house on Trowbridge Road, Bradford on Avon, on Sunday, September 15 after Reynolds had smashed through a cat flap.

Once inside he stole a camcorder and digital camera as well as keys and a games' console while a man and his 18-month-old baby slept upstairs.

On the same night Reynolds broke into another house almost directly opposite by forcing a kitchen window and making off with about £100, and the night after, he broke into another home in the town and took £105 in cash.

Reynolds, of Bancroft, Bradford on Avon, pleaded guilty to three counts of burglary and asked for 21 more to be taken into consideration.

The court heard he had 105 previous convictions and got three years for burglary in 2005 as a 'three strike' offender.

Jailing him, Judge Tim Mousley QC said: "You were a prolific burglar in the Bradford on Avon and Trowbridge areas committing burglaries on an almost nightly basis.

"You showed no signs of stopping. It seems to me that you have made a career, albeit with a break recently, out of stealing."