A BURGLAR has been jailed for three years after DNA tests on a cigarette end he left at the scene linked him to the crime.

Aylesbury Crown Court heard last Tuesday how David Peploe, 25, of the Pastures, Downley, had broken into a house in Keensacre, Iver Heath, on July 4 and made off with £6,270 of cash, silverware and hi-fi equipment.

DNA on the cigarette found in the toilet was analysed and matched Peploe's.

Peploe initially denied the offence but later pleaded guilty at Beaconsfield Magistrates Court on March 16 to the burglary. He also admitted another break-in at Langley Park Road, Iver, on June 10 and was committed to crown court for sentencing.

Prosecutor Mark Ruffell told the court that Peploe's haul in the Iver burglary was £2,000, including jewellery and alcohol. Peploe's fingerprint was found on a glass slat which had been removed from a side-window to gain entry.

Mr Ruffell said Peploe had committed more than 110 previous offences, mostly involving dishonesty. The Iver burglary was committed only four days after Peploe was released on licence from a two-year prison sentence.

Graham Smith, defending, said Peploe had a troubled past and realised that until he co-operated with probation, he would receive a jail sentence.

But Judge John Slack sent Peploe to prison for three years. He told Peploe: "You find it compelling to invade residential homes of people who live quite near your own address and you are a man who has committed such burglaries in the past."