Two brothers who targeted pubs across Essex have been jailed for five and a half years each.

Warren Linnen, 35, and brother Westley, 38, whose last known addresses were Beckton, east London, admitted conspiracy to burgle.

The pair were arrested by Essex Police in March 2015 after an appeal to trace them.

They were initially charged with burglary and drugs offences, but later charged with conspiracy after all the offences were brought together in one case.

The conspiracy charge includes 60 burglaries across Essex, Surrey, Sussex, Kent, Thames Valley, Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire and London.

The Essex offences were in Leigh, Southend, Rayleigh, BenfleetWestcliff, Harlow, Brentwood, Buckhurst Hill, Chelmsford and Pitsea.

Dc Kirsty Swan, from Harlow CID, led the multi-force prosecution.

She said: "These brothers targeted licenced premises and gained access to private living areas or staff rooms to steal.

"It was only after arresting them having been wanted for burglaries across Essex and Hertfordshire that I began to fully uncover the number of crimes they had committed.

"This case has involved liaising with officers from seven other forces to pull together all our work to make a strong case which meant the Linnen brothers had no choice but to admit their guilt when faced with the weight of the evidence compiled against them.”

They stole cash totalling £19,700, and police estimate around £1,000 worth of other items including safe boxes, handbags and small electrical items were taken.

Basildon Crown Court heard how the offences were committed over six weeks while both brothers were on licence having been released from prison merely days before their crime spree began.

The current sentences will be served consecutively to the remainder of their previous sentences, which were also for burglary.