A 19-year-old who committed about a fifth of the vehicles crimes in Kingston at the end of last year has been jailed.

After his arrest, Martin Gibbons took police for a drive around the borough and pointed out more than 50 scenes where he broke into cars and homes.

The teenager was caught red-handed when he disturbed the owner while trying to break into a house in Kingston on December 29 last year.

When the officers questioned him, he said he wanted to get “a few things off his chest”.

Gibbons then took them to the scenes of 54 of his other crimes, including 40 motor vehicle crimes and 14 domestic burglaries - nearly all committed in the last two moths of 2008.

His crimes accounted for about 20 per cent of the 172 vehicle crimes committed in Kingston during that time, and nine per cent of the 151 burglaries.

On 27 February at Kingston Crown Court the teenager was sentenced to 30 months in prison.

Gibbons, of Cobham Road, Kingston, faced an automatic three-year jail term for committing three or more burglaries.

However, six months was taken off because he pleaded guilty early on.

Glen Carrasco, representing Gibbons, said his client’s record of offending only started after his parents banned him from the family home at the end of 2007.

He fell in with “criminal peers” and stole to fund his cannabis habit and his life without family support, Mr Carrasco told the court.

He said Gibbons’s actions were spontaneous, unsophisticated and immature.

Thomas Wilkins, prosecuting, told the court Gibbons already had 10 previous convictions for dishonesty, theft, shoplifting and stealing cars, when he was caught by police while trying to burgle a Kingston home.

Mr Carrasco pleaded with the judge, John Samuels, to significantly reduce the three-year tariff as it would be “unjust” on a 19-year-old who had only ever spent 12 weeks in custody.

Mr Samuels said apart from giving credit for the guilty plea, his hands were tied.

He said: “Domestic burglaries, particularly at night, particularly when the occupier is at home are, and must be seen to be, treated as serious offences.

“I cannot find it would be unjust to impose the level of sentence the Government lays down.”

Mr Samuels condemned Gibbons’ record of offending and urged him to use his time in prison to “put his life in order”.

“Pull yourself together, try to sort yourself out and hopefully you will change for the best,” he said.