A prolific burglar is set for an extended period of time behind bars after admitting a series of other burglaries in the area.

Ronnie Bridges, 40, had been sentenced to five years and two months in prison in May after pleading guilty to four burglaries.

But after further work by officers at Suffolk Police, Bridges - previously of Lowestoft - was sentenced to another eight months in prison at Ipswich Crown Court last Friday, December 13.

This latest sentence is set to run consecutively with his existing sentence.

Det Con Duncan Etchells, of Suffolk Constabulary's Operation Converter TIC Unit, said: "Officers at Lowestoft CID worked alongside the Crown Prosecution Service to achieve this result, achieving justice for victims of burglaries committed in Lowestoft, Southwold, Hopton, Corton, Carlton Colville, Worlingham and Wrentham.

"Det Con Richard Last, of Lowestoft CID, secured the initial further charge in connection with a burglary in Lowestoft in November 2018 and Bridges has since chosen to work with the Operation Converter TIC Unit.

"As a result of this, 32 further burglary offences have been taken into consideration."

Operation Converter is an initiative aimed at encouraging offenders to admit their crimes, with police able to give victims some peace of mind that an offender has been caught, and the individual has the opportunity to clear their slate so they can have a fresh start when they are released from prison, without the possibility they will later be traced for a further offence.

Police said that offenders have to give sufficient detail for officers to be sure they have committed the crime and these offences are then 'taken into consideration' at sentencing.

Sentencing Bridges in May, Judge Martyn Levett described him as a "recidivist" who had previously appeared in courts for 72 offences, including 38 offences of burglary, and had asked for 664 offences to be considered over the years.

At the time, Natasha Nair, mitigating, said he had committed the offences because he feared he had bowel cancer but he had since been given the all clear and diagnosed with Crohn's disease.

Bridges had also been given a suspended prison sentence in February 2018 after claiming he wanted to "rehabilitate himself from a life of crime."