A SERIAL burglar took car keys from houses with unlocked front doors and then made off with the vehicles.

Serving prisoner Nicholas Shackleford was given an additional jail term at Oxford Crown Court on Monday after admitting one burglary and asking for five others to be taken into consideration.

The court heard the 21-year-old, whose address was given as HMP Rochester, had been trying door handles to find unlocked properties on March 20 when he got lucky in Harvest Way, Witney.

Jonathan Stone, prosecuting, said he took two sets of keys from the house and initially took a Land Rover, but it ran out of petrol within five minutes.

Shackleford then returned to the same address and drove off in a Vauxhall Vivaro van and parked it in Quarry Road with the intention of coming back later to sell it. Mr Stone said that plan was thwarted by the vehicle’s tracking device which enabled its owners to recover it.

Shackleford, who has seven convictions for 17 offences, is currently serving 16 months for a burglary in Woodcote, near Reading, and while in prison told police he wanted to come clean about other identical burglaries he had committed in Witney.

The court heard he had used the same method to take a VW Polo from Eton Close, a Mini from Sherbourne Road, a Ford Focus from Burwell Drive, a Mercedes C200 from Manor Road and a Ford Focus RS from Broadway Close.

Adam Crook, defending, said his client “wanted to make a genuine and clean, fresh break to help him settle with his partner and her child once he is released.

Judge Patrick Eccles jailed him for nine months.