A 38-year-old man has been jailed for 12 years after he committed a string of offences targeting elderly and vulnerable people across East Anglia, including 11 crimes in Suffolk.

Deividas Zvironas was arrested on November 6 in Bedford after he had been circulated as a wanted person.

He was subsequently charged in relation to three thefts, three burglaries, two robberies and an incident of fraud using a stolen bank card, all of which happened in Lowestoft between September 26 and October 8 last year.

He appeared before Luton Crown Court last Friday after previously pleading guilty to 18 offences at the crown court on January 4.

These comprised nine offences in Suffolk, two in Norfolk and seven in Bedfordshire – including burglaries, attempted burglary, and assault causing grievous bodily harm and one count of common assault, both relating to incidents occurring in Bedfordshire.

He also had a further two offences in Suffolk and two in Bedfordshire taken into consideration.

The offences Zvironas was charged with included two robberies that took place in Great Yarmouth on June 25 and October 11 last year, along with four burglaries and one attempted burglary in the Bedford and Kempston areas of Bedfordshire which happened between October 12 and October 26.

Zvironas, of De Havilland Avenue in Bedford, was sentenced to 12 years’ imprisonment at Luton Crown Court.

Detective Inspector Matt Adams, of East CID at Lowestoft Police Station, said: “Deividas Zvironas is a prolific criminal who travelled around three counties causing misery for numerous victims.

“His offending involved him deliberately targeting elderly and other vulnerable people.

“I would personally like to praise all the detectives that worked on this case in all three counties, as every effort was made to identify this individual and link him to this series of offences due to the threat his offending posed to the public.

“Although we took the lead for this inquiry in Suffolk, I am grateful for the support given to us by our colleagues in both Norfolk and Bedfordshire who I am sure, like us, will be satisfied with the sentence today.”