A serial burglar who helped steal luxury watches worth nearly £70,000 in a smash and grab raid at a shopping centre has been sentenced to five years behind bars. 

David West, 35, from Worcester Road, Sutton, took part in a string of raids at diamond and watch specialist Ernest Jones in the Ashley Centre, Epsom, M&S in Banstead, Sainsbury's in Croydon and John Lewis in Sussex last year.

West, who has convictions for 63 previous crimes, and has already spent years behind bars, admitted five counts of burglary during a hearing at Croydon Crown Court today.

But he claimed he was only paid £100 for some of the raids which netted £70,000.

But jailing West Judge Peter Gower said: The fact remains that time and time again you agreed to play a vital role in organised, slickly executed, professional burglaries."

Masked men smashed their way into the Ashley Centre at 11pm on May 12 and then used a sledgehammer to break the jewellers' window and snatched 35 luxury watches including Tag Heuers.

They escaped with the loot despite the alarms being triggered, the 24-hour security at the shopping centre (pictured after the raid below), and the close proximity of Epsom police, who are based in the town hall.

Referring to CCTV from the Ashley Centre that night, prosecutor Steven Attridge told the court: "It shows three males enter the shopping centre armed with a sledge hammer and other implements going to the front of the store, smashing the window and reaching though to take items from the display."

A week earlier, on May 6, West had also taken part in a break-in at House of Fraser, also in the Ashley Centre, and stole 10 pairs of jeans.

A witness heard loud bangs and saw a man standing outside while two people went in through a broken window.

Mr Attridge said: "Two men emerged carrying bags of what appeared to be clothes. They made off toward the town centre on foot."

Earlier in the year, on February 26, thieves used a hammer to smash a glass door, forced open tills and stole £1,800 in cash from M&S in Banstead High Street.

A lump hammer was left in the store and police later found the getaway car containing a crowbar and gloves with West's DNA on.

Surrey Comet: The scene at Ernest Jones in the Ashley Centre, Epsom, today

In June burglars stole £580 from Sainsbury's Local in Lower Addiscombe Road, Croydon, and kindles and electronic goods from John Lewis at home in Chichester.

In both cases the thieves smashed windows and prised open the tills.

After the John Lewis raid on June 30, police caught West driving the getaway car which contained a crowbar, drills and gloves.

West's defence lawyer Jonathan Simpson claimed his client's role was limited and described him as a "minor player in a major event".

Mr Simpson said: "In all offences he was either a driver or a lookout.

"On occasions he was paid no more than about £100, drafted in at the last minute and not privy to any of the plans on targeting the stores."

He added: "There's no evidence he had the spoils of the jewellery goods."

The scaffolder was brought up on the Roundshaw estate, in Sutton, left home at 15 and was "in the vice" of drugs in his 20s and early 30s.

He said he has overcome his drug addiction and through his lawyer thanked his partner, who was in court, for her "strength, morality and guidance".

Mr Simpson said the death of his 24-year-old sister due to alleged hospital incompetence caused "great heartache".

He said: "It was one reason two years ago that the defendant slipped more heavily into the vice of drugs."

West had a large number of previous convictions including cases of dishonesty and thefts in 1997 and 2003.

He was jailed for four years for robbery in Worcester Park in December 2008.

Mr Attridge said West told a female taxi driver to "get out of the car or I will shoot you" then tried to drive off in the taxi but crashed into a parked car.

In March 2012, he was jailed for a year for burglary at John Lewis in Wood Street, Kingston.