A man has been jailed for two years for a series of burglaries at hotels in the Charlwood and Bagshot areas.

Phillip Brown, 47, from Woolwich, London, appeared at Guildford Crown Court on February 21, charged with the burglaries at two hotels last year.

Lee Burmingham, 33, from Blackheath, London, appeared alongside him, and was given a ten month sentence suspended for two years. He was also ordered to complete 100 hours of community service within twelve months. The pair had previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit burglary and theft at a hearing in January.

The court heard Brown and Burmingham committed a series of burglaries at the two luxury hotels in the Bagshot and Charlwood areas from August 1 through to October 22 last year.

They broke into hotel rooms, stealing wallets and purses containing cash and bank cards, as well as jewellery and small electrical items such as iPads. The two men were caught by alert hotel staff in Bagshot after seven rooms were broken into in October. Staff recognised the men from their CCTV images and confronted the pair in the grounds of the hotel. Police were quickly on the scene and both men were arrested. Officers from Surrey Police mounted a detailed investigation and were able to connect both men with a theft from a nearby petrol station. Phillip Brown was also responsible for further burglaries at a hotel in Charlwood last August.

Det Con Stuart Pittaway of Guildford CID said: "Without the vigilance of the hotel staff, combined with very good security and CCTV systems, these two men would have continued to travel into the Surrey area and target people who have come to visit our county.” Det Con Pittaway said: "Officers in this investigation have tracked down and dealt with victims from as far afield as Europe and America, as well as one victim who was recovering from chemotherapy treatment. “The men have shown they have no regard for anyone they were stealing from and I'm pleased with the sentencing result. “This investigation also demonstrates that Surrey Police will relentlessly pursue anyone that comes into our county to commit this type of offence.”