A CAT burglar is on the loose – and he is only interested in underwear.

Basil, a three-year-old moggy, has been targeting the residents of Hanover in Brighton for months, stealing knickers, socks, and pants off their washing lines.

The gifts are then presented to his red-faced owner Jane Goodwin, who tries to find the victims online to return their undergarments.

One was Rhianna Drummond-Clarke, of Albion Hill, who said she had sometimes spotted the peeping tom cat staring into her window in the mornings.

She said: “I was scrolling on Facebook and I saw a photo of some knickers.

“I thought to myself, they look like the ones that I haven’t seen in a couple of days.

“I said ‘I bet it’s that cat’.”

Fortunately for Rhianna, her undergarments have now been returned.

At least ten pairs of pants and knickers have been stolen from Jersey Street, Grove Street and Albion Hill since Basil began his spree three months ago.

An Argus journalist was among Basil’s latest victims – he lost a pair of pants to the thief yesterday.

He spotted them on Jane’s Facebook post and said: “They’ve got cats sitting on pizzas floating in space – they are quite unusual so I was sure they were mine.

“Jane is going to post them back to me.”

Basil can often be spotted with his best friend and unconfirmed accomplice, a black cat called Dave.

Worryingly for the people of Hanover, owner Jane, of Jersey Street, said his behaviour has escalated in recent months.

She said that as a youngster, Basil would bring leaves into the house, then moved on to gloves, and is now targeting underwear.

She said: “He sometimes leaves them by my bed and sometimes in the living room.

“He just thinks it’s a nice present for me. Thankfully everyone finds it really funny and are very understanding.”