A GANG of Romanians took stolen goods back to Romania before returning for more.

The four thieves were targeted 16 houses before a resident spotted them acting suspiciously at a neighbour's house and phoned police.

Brothers Alin Paul Hosain, 29, Ionut-Emil Hosian, 27, and Nicolae Marius Stoica, 22, all of no fixed address, and George Alexandru Ghica, 22, of Woodcock Hill, Felbridge, were each jailed for four years after pleading guilty.

The gang burgled nine homes between November 1 and November 6, in Crawley Down, Burgess Hill, Crawley and Brighton, targetting five in the city.

The next day they flew out of Luton Airport to Romania, where, police were able to show, the stolen I-pads were used.

They returned on November 18, burgling two homes in Burgess Hill on the very day they stepped off the plane, and three homes in Brighton the next day.

On November 20 they stole from a home in Haywards Heath before targeting the house in Finches Park Road, Lindfield.

There the alert neighbour put a stop to their crime spree by phoning police who arrested them at a petrol station and matched them to the other burglaries.

All four pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit burglary between September 23 and November 20 last year.

Ghica also pleaded guilty to removing property proceeds of burglary from the UK.

He was given an extra nine months in prison to run alongside his four-year sentence.

Detective Constable Jamie Carruthers, of the West Sussex Priority Crime Team, said: "We were able to confirm that two stolen iPads had been used in Romania, so it is evident that they had taken much of their stolen loot back to their home country.

"This case shows that crime like this can be curbed by public and police working together.

"If you spot anything suspicious near properties, just call 999. Even if it turns out to be innocent we will not mind."

Judge Anthony Niblett awarded the good neighbour £250 out of High Sherriff's funds for his public-spirited response.

He said the group would undoubtedly have tried to commit other burglaries had he not phoned police