A MAN was jailed for four years and three months in prison after raiding a home in Oxford and trying to sell on jewellery, police said.

Nathan Bourton, of Dashwood Road, Oxford, was sentenced on July 16 at Oxford Crown Court after being convicted of one count of burglary and two counts of handling stolen goods.

Police said it was a neighbour in Oliver Road, Cowley, who raised the alarm after hearing noises from a nearby house at about 4.35pm on January 12.

Officers went to the house and found Bourton in the first floor bedroom. He jumped from a window to escape and stole £500 cash, police said.

But the 33-year-old was found out after leaving identification behind in the victim’s home, police said, and he later claimed it was evidence that he himself had been targeted by thieves.

Det Con Stuart McLaren said: “Bourton tried to play the victim in this case.

“He claimed he was the victim of a theft, in an attempt to account for his property being found at the scene of the burglary on Oliver Road. Fortunately the jury did not fall for his deception and reached the right decision for the true victims of his crime.

“I hope the sentence given Bourton will bring a sense of justice to the victims and will serve as a reminder to offenders that Thames Valley Police will bring burglars to justice.”

Between December 27 and 30 last year, a property in Wytham Street was broken into. Jewellery, £60 in cash, headphones and champagne were also stolen.

And on December 2 last year, a property in Newman Road was broken into while the victims were away. Jewellery worth a total of £7,780 was stolen from the house.

Bourton was then found to have tried to sell some of the stolen jewellery to pawnbrokers in Oxford.