A 17-year-old boy has admitted going on a burglary spree across Brighton and Hove and West Sussex.

The teenager from Crawley broke into 12 homes across the county between September 3 and 24 September, stealing everything from bikes, clothing and electrical items to jewellery, cash, watches and sunglasses.

Police were able to link each of the break-ins to the boy after finding his fingerprints at the addresses in Crawley, Worthing, Brighton and Hove.

The first burglaries were committed in Barber Close, Crawley, on 3 September and 9 September before a home in Wantage Close, Crawley, was burgled on 11 September.

Over the next two weeks the boy also broke into homes in Marine Parade, Worthing, in Belvedere Terrace, Ditchling Rise, Clarendon Terrace, College Terrace and Victoria Road, Brighton, and addresses in Brunswick Road and Brunswick Square, Hove.

The 17-year-old pleaded guilty to the charges and was remanded in custody to be sentenced at Brighton Magistrates' Court on October 21.

Detective Sergeant Kate Witt said: "The boy already had a conviction for burglary before he committed the dozen crimes across the county.

"He was selling what he could steal for a fraction of the value and was likely to continue committing crime until he was caught.

"We were able to link him to each of the break-ins because of good work by detectives and the crime scene investigators who visited the victims and found the boy's fingerprints."