‘Raffles’ on a bike jailed for 130 burglaries

A “GENTLEMAN” thief carried out more than 100 burglaries, pedalling to and from most on his bicycle, before leaving homes “neat and tidy”.

David Adams, a former City trader who had dreams of stardom as a music production university graduate, became one of southern England’s most prolific burglars.

His life spiralled out of control after a recruitment agency he owned went bust and he turned to gambling, then to burglary to pay his debts. Since 2014, the privately educated 33-year-old had burgled 130 mostly rural houses, which he cycled to because he couldn’t drive.

In his latest crime wave in Hampshire’s New Forest, the so-called gentleman thief pedalled from village to village and always left his victims’ homes “nice” and “tidy”. Adams, of Poole, Dorset, was sentenced to five years and four months in prison at Bournemouth Crown Court.

A court heard he meticulously planned his break-ins, recording the position of blinds and curtains of potential homes to target in a notebook.

Judge Brian Forster QC told Adams: “This case is a tragedy for you.

“You are clearly a person of ability. You went to university. You have had opportunities in your life that many people would love to have.”