A thief scammed £50,000 from a victim before then launching a campaign of car and cash thefts and burglaries across Kent.

Steven Snell, 35, caused endless bother for people in Thanet, Snodland, Maidstone, Ditton and West Malling, Gravesend and Medway.

The burglaries followed him targeting a vulnerable Ramsgate man when he conned him in April 2018.

A court heard how Snell demanded £7,500 for roofing work and days later he demanded another £6,300 before showing up with Polyfiller to mend some small holes.

By April 13 he had demanded another £7,500 and 17 days later another £7,600.

The prosecutor, Timothy Devlin said Snell returned on May 14 and pocketed another £18,600 and then another £9,500 at the end of May.

Snell showed up again with a woman to clean the floor, only for the house holder to receive a call from his bank saying someone had attempted to get £1,000 out of his account.

Mr Devlin said that the heartless fraudster had ripped off the 63-year-old victim of £50,500, including using his stolen credit card.

But Snell, who had been remanded in custody, didn't show up for his sentence, telling prison staff: "I can't be bothered, and refused to leave his cell for his hearing at Maidstone Crown Court, for a second time.

The court also heard the brazen crook - who admitted a string of frauds and thefts - even had the nerve to offer a "well-known" Kent solicitor a lift in one of the stolen vehicles.

He took the unsuspecting lawyer from a West Malling petrol station to her home in Croydon after she had attended a wedding.

Snell was originally charged with kidnapping her after claims he had posed as a taxi driver - but the Crown Prosecution Service later dropped that charge.

Judge Tony Baumgartner heard that from July to September 2018, he launched a series of raids at homes across the west of the county stealing 14 car keys and driving away Citroens, Mercedes, Toyotas, Mitsubishis VW Golfs, Suzukis, and a Ford Kuga.

One of the victims actually heard a thief running down their stairs but the court heard that many only realised their vehicles had been taken when they woke up and discovered car keys missing.

Snell's broke into houses in Aylesford, West Malling, Birling, Snodland, Gravesend, Ditton and Larkfield and Medway.

He was eventually nabbed after a sharp-eyed police officer - probing the discovery of a car which had been dumped in Cerne Road, Gravesend, saw him walking away from another of the stolen vehicles in Lester Road, Chatham.

Snell, who has no fixed address, began running but his burglary spree ended when he failed to scale a fence and was caught by the officer.

Mr Devlin said that in his pockets were some of the stolen car keys.

One of his victims later described the burglary as "a despicable act", adding: "I am just grateful that no-one was hurt."

Snell, admitted 42 charges of burglary, theft, and fraud and was jailed for six years.

Judge Baumgartner told him: "There is little to be said for Snell who has lived a pretty unenviable life."

The Crown Prosecution Service will now begin an investigation into Snell's financial means in the hope of getting some of the stolen money back.

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