A serial burglar has been jailed for selling a family’s stolen heirlooms to a pawnbroker for just £105.

Steven Buchanan did not carry out the raid on the home of two pensioners in Kingsteignton but acted as fence to sell a batch of gold rings to a pawn shop in Newton Abbot.

He was caught on the CCTV system at the shop with another man as he sold the antique rings for less than the value of their gold content, Exeter Crown Court was told.

Buchanan, 27, of Coronation Road, Kingsteignton, admitted handling stolen goods and was jailed for 16 months by Recorder Mr Martin Meeke, QC.

He told him: ’Within an hour of this burglary you were at a pawnbroker in Newton Abbot selling a number of gold rings which you knew were stolen.

’When you looked at these items it would have been obvious to you they were the products of a dwelling house burglary because you long criminal record shows six burglaries.

’The police were very proactive in this case and checked the CCTV in the town centre. Their swift and effective action meant almost everything of value was recovered.’

Ian Graham, prosecuting, said pensioners Pamela and Godfrey Ball returned home from a short outing on April 23 to find their house in Kingsteignton had been broken into.

Mr Graham said: ’Jewellery, a bag and a mobile phone had been taken. The rings had been left to Mrs Ball by her mother and had been passed down through the family and had great emotional and sentimental value.

’Within the hour this defendant, with another man, were in town selling the items of jewellery to a pawn broker, where they were caught on CCTV.’

He said Buchanan was arrested shortly afterwards and helped police recover some items from a bin near his home.

Mr and Mrs Ball made an impact statement in which they said: ’We feel terrible that somebody has been in our house. We feel defiled.’

Buchanan has six previous convictions for burgling other people’s homes and one for handling. He would have been liable to a mandatory three-year sentence if convicted of burglary.

Barry White, mitigating, said Buchanan moved to Devon from Wiltshire after finishing his last jail sentence to start a new life with his partner.

He said: ’Unfortunately, his reputation preceded him and without notice a man turned up at his door with a bag of stuff. He assisted the police in recovering some of the stolen items.’