A ‘THRILL-seeking’ burglar has been jailed for a burglary spree in which he stole keys for cars which he crashed and wrote off.

Morgan Povey raided four homes, including one in Newton Abbot, in the space of a week leaving families terrified and posed as an Amazon delivery driver to con his way into one house.

He stole car keys in all of the burglaries but was caught by police before he could steal the cars on two occasions. Each time he was released, he went straight out and did the same thing again.

He broke into two homes in Torquay, one in Newton Abbot and Totnes and wrote off a Skoda in a country lane and a VW van into the perimeter fence of the Langage Power station in Plympton.

He fled on a bicycle and was found by police sleeping rough in a nearby garden three days later. He was carrying a craft knife and still had the stolen keys for the van.

Povey has never had a driving licence but drove the stolen car at speed and without lights before crashing it at Newton Abbot.

He had been working as a scaffolder but lost his job and his supported accommodation. He was found sleeping in one of the stolen cars and left his bail papers in another.

Povey, aged 20, of Hutchings Way, Teignmouth, admitted four burglaries, two offences of aggravated vehicle taking, possession of a bladed article, vehicle interference, and driving with no licence or insurance.

He was jailed in a Young Offenders’ Institution for a year and nine months by Judge Simon Carr at Exeter Crown Court.

He told him: ‘These were not attempts to deal with your homelessness. They were thrill-seeking offences, as is demonstrated by the fact that you repeated them after being released.

‘You burgled two houses which were both occupied by adults with young children. The effect on those families has been utterly devastating.

‘That is not surprising, given the terror of learning that someone has gone into the house when there were young children there.’

Mr Tom Bradnock, prosecuting, said Povey broke into a home in Thurlow Road, Torquay, just after midnight on April 7 this year and stole a wallet, cash, and the keys to a Skoda Fabia.

Police saw the stolen car being driven at speed and without lights towards Newton Abbot where it was later found crashed into a hedge, where he abandoned it.

He went straight to a house in nearby Burnley Road where he broke in and disturbed the single mother and her 11-year-old daughter who lived there.

They were terrified, barricaded themselves into a bedroom and called the police.

They came out after Povey left and found he had stolen the keys to her Vauxhall car but he fled without stealing it and was found by police asleep in the wrecked Skoda.

He was interviewed and bailed later that day and went straight to a house in Audley Road, Torquay, where he posed as an Amazon driver to get inside and stole the keys to Vauxhall Zafira.

The owner’s wife came home from work and disturbed Povey as he was inside the car. He fled, leaving his bail papers in the car.

He was traced by police, arrested, and bailed again by Plymouth Magistrates on April 9.

Povey broke into a house in Bourton Road, Totnes on the night of April 13 and stole the keys to the owner’s VW Caddy van, which he crashed at 3 am the next morning outside Langage power station.

He went into the reception to call his brother for help but then left on a bicycle which he took from the back of the wrecked van. He was found by police in a garden two days later.

He had a craft knife and a bag containing the keys to the Caddy van.

Miss Evie Dean, defending, said Povey had a difficult childhood in care but had been working as a scaffolder while living in his on accommodation and with help from a support worker.

He lost all these stabilising influences and found himself homeless and with his support worker on paternity leave. He suffers from suspected autism and other mental health issues for which he was being treated by his family doctor.