Two Liverpool burglars stole cars from people's driveways in Kent.
Ellis McKeown, 24, of Stapleton Avenue, Speke, and Marcus Jones , 20, of Torrington Drive, Halewood, were sentenced for their involvement.
On Friday, June 18, 2021, a resident in Deal, Kent, saw men in her driveway at around 4.30am and attempts were also made to get into another property nearby at around the same time.
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A property in the Sholden area was then broken into, the keys to three cars were taken from inside and the vehicles were stolen.
An investigation was launched and the vehicles were tracked as having been driven towards East Sussex.
Two days later, Sussex Police attended a property in Fairlight and found one of the stolen vehicles, which had by that time been fitted with false number plates.
CCTV footage from around the house was examined and the stolen vehicle was seen with four people nearby.
An officer from Kent Police's Chief Constable's Crime Squad recognised two of those seen in the footage as McKeown and Jones, having encountered them on previous occasions.
The pair were traced and Jones was arrested in Liverpool in August that year and McKeown was arrested in Wolverhampton the following month.
McKeown was jailed for two and a half years and the 24-year-olds sentence included a six-month term for a dangerous driving offence in the West Midlands.
Jones was given a 20-month sentence, suspended for two years, for his involvement.
Kent Police's Detective Sergeant Jay Robinson said: "Burglaries have a big impact on people's feeling of safety in their own home, as well as the inconvenience of replacing stolen and expensive items or being without the use of vehicles.
"Kent Police is therefore committed to investigating all offences reported to us and will always work to bring offenders to justice.
"A swift and thorough investigation into these offences led to one of the vehicles being traced and the suspects later being identified and arrested.
"'I hope the sentences handed down mean other residents of Kent, and elsewhere in the country, are spared the attentions of these two burglars."
