A PROLIFIC thief who tricked his way into people’s homes by pretending to be a council worker has admitted 150 burglaries.

Thomas Cserenyecz, 26, dressed as a worker from Mears – one of the Brighton and Hove City Council's contractors – snatching items when residents’ backs were turned.

As well as stealing cash and jewellery, he also took bank cards and made a series of withdrawals of hundreds of pounds.

At Lewes Crown Court today (Monday November 3) he was jailed for nine years after pleading guilty to burglaries in The Cliff, Down Terrace, Freshfield Road, Freshfield Street, Ditchling Road and Manor Gardens, all in Brighton, as well as fraud and shoplifting charges.

Cserenyecz, of Woodland Vale Road, St Leonard's, also admitted he was responsible for a further 144 burglaries and a number of thefts across Brighton and Hove, East Sussex and West Sussex between June 2010 and May 2014 that detectives had not yet solved.

Among the lies he peddled to his victims was that he had been sent to measure up for a walk-in bath the local authority was going to pay to be installed.

Detective Chief Inspector Paul Betts said it was only after questioning Cserenyecz that detectives realised how prolific he had been.

He added: “He was an opportunistic burglar who entered scores of properties, stole what he could and sold it to fund his heroin habit.

"His conviction came about because of the way officers and staff from across the division worked together to identify him as the offender, track him down and prove he was responsible."

Geoff Raw, Brighton and Hove City Council's executive director in charge of housing, said all council workers and official contractors who need access to homes carry ID.

He added: "I'd strongly urge residents to refuse entry to anyone who does not have ID and to contact us if they're suspicious of anyone claiming to be from the council, or working for us."

If you have any information about burglaries or shops selling stolen goods, call 101 or email 101@sussex.pnn.police.uk.