A burglar who stole keys and cars from a Bristol Street Motors car dealership has been jailed.

Jason Wheeler was already serving a suspended prison sentence for a raid at another dealership when he broke into the Bristol Street Motors offices in Marsh Barton, Exeter in January with a friend and took seven sets of keys.

They identified which cars they belonged to by pressing the fobs and seeing which lights lit up as they unlocked and then selected three Vauxhall Corsas, each worth £7,500.

The pair were caught because they returned the next night to try to take a Ford Fiesta but staff were waiting for them and had blocked it in with a van and removed a wheel to stop them escaping, Exeter Crown Court was told.

He'd also broken into the neighbouring Hendy Group premises.

Wheeler, aged 25, of Lichfield Avenue in Torquay, admitted two burglaries and attempting to steal the Fiesta and was jailed for a total of 18 months.

In mitigation, the court was told Wheeler has a partner and young children and has been offered a job at a garage by an uncle so he can turn his interest in cars to good use.