A man who burgled two neighbouring restaurants in a city has been jailed.

James Jackson, 35, broke into two restaurants in Bartholomew Square, Brighton overnight on October 19.

Police received a report of a burglary at a restaurant on Thursday, October 20.

CCTV received shortly after showed a suspect identified as Jackson, of no fixed address.

Attempts were made to locate and arrest him, but he could not be located.

On Wednesday, October 26, police received a report of a second burglary having taken place overnight at a different restaurant in Bartholomew Square, Brighton.

Officers attended on October 26 and reviewed CCTV, which showed a suspect again identified as Jackson.

Jackson was known to be sleeping in a tent in Bartholomew Square and was found there the same day, wearing the same clothes as seen in the CCTV and in possession of several items taken during the burglary.

He was arrested and subsequently charged with two counts of burglary other than dwelling.

Jackson was found guilty of both charges at Brighton Magistrates’ Court on Thursday, October 27.

He was jailed for four months.

 “Sussex Police understands the impact burglary has on victims not just financially, but the emotional impact through the loss of sentimental items and sense of violation,” said Detective Sergeant Joanne Benton.

“Tackling business crime is a key focus in Brighton and Hove and we carry out a significant amount of engagement work with residents and the business community to prevent crime and bring perpetrators to justice.

“Together with our partners in the business crime reduction partnership and Business Improvement District, we have introduced a range of measures to make reporting crime easier, share intelligence and improve the quality of evidence gathering.”