A pair of prolific burglars have been jailed for a supermarket crime sweep in which they stole cash from stores across the country.

Bradley Pogmore, 32, and Lee Baker, 38, both from Croydon but of no fixed address, carried out 17 raids in a crime spree spanning the breadth of the UK. 

They repeatedly targeted Sainsbury's in Purley Way, where they were caught on CCTV breaking into a till and stealing £282.68 on February 18.

They burgled the same shop again on April 3, when they stole £585, and on April 28, when they pocketed £292. 

Security staff recognised Pogmore from the CCTV footage as he had previously been convicted of theft from the same shop in 2013.

But police were unable to locate Pogmore, who stole from Sainsbury's, Co-operative, Tesco, Asda, Iceland and Waitrose shops, sometimes alone and sometimes with Baker as an accomplice, before being arrested in Dagenham on May 29.

Police arrested Baker eight days earlier after linking him to Pogmore.

The pair's most profitable raids saw them pocket £355 from Sainsbury's in Orpington on May 1, £507 from Aldi in Barnet on April  and £400 from Waitrose in Islington on May 3.

Pogmore alone stole £420 from an Asda in Enfield on February 24 and £500 from Sainsbury's in Kensington on March 17.

They also stole from stores as far afield as Colchester, Northamptonshire and Clacton-on-Sea, Essex, taking sums of cash between £50 to £585. 

Pogmore admitted 15 counts of burglary and Baker pleaded guilty to eight charges of burglary on August 4. 

Pogmore was jailed for 20 months and Baker for 18 months at Croydon Crown Court on Monday. 

Detective Constable Aaron Hobbs, from Croydon police, said: "The pair were prolific thieves and it was because we recognised Pogmore from having committed previous offences at the store in Purley Way, that we were able to then link the two of them to this series of burglaries. 

"They both have a history of similar offending and the judge has taken this into account in the length of their sentence."