A career burglar who targeted city students has been jailed for four years after being caught red-handed.

Luke Pearson, of Union Street in Canterbury, broke into a student house in Longport, but when confronted by its tenants told them: “I’m looking for Jimmy.”

Two students reported seeing a woman they did not know holding the door to their home open for 36-year-old Pearson on May 24.

The woman told them that Pearson was looking for someone, at which point he walked out of one of the victims’ bedrooms.

Showing them his empty hands, Pearson said: “Look, I haven’t taken anything.” He then claimed he was looking for someone called Jimmy before fleeing the property.

When one of the students checked their bedroom she saw a laptop and television had been unplugged and stacked on top of each other, as if ready to be removed, while the other student realised his wallet and laptop were missing, and his X-Box had been tampered with.

They called the police, who tracked down Pearson within an hour after being given a description by the victims.They identified him by finding a top he was wearing at the time of the offence.

Pearson refused to comment in a police interview, but was charged and admitted the burglary at Canterbury Crown Court on Friday, July 3.

Investigating officer DC Clive Horne said: “Pearson tried to take advantage of those living in student accommodation by claiming to look for someone as a cover for the fact he was stealing their belongings.

“This type of crime has a lasting effect on the victims and the reputation of the city for those coming here to study..."- DC Clive Horne

“Thanks to the savvy victims who saw through his lies and reported it to police immediately, officers were able to find and arrest Pearson within the hour.

“This type of crime has a lasting effect on the victims and the reputation of the city for those coming here to study.

“Luke Pearson is a career criminal with a lot of convictions behind him. I hope he uses his time behind bars to reconsider this way of life as clearly it’s not working for him.”