Britain's stupidest burglar? Serial thief dubbed 'The Creeper' broke into homes wearing GPS tracker

If there was an award for Britain's stupidest criminal, this serial burglar would surely be in with a shout.

Prolific thief Stuart Campbell – nicknamed "The Creeper" – had just been released from prison in June of this year when he went on another crime spree, this time breaking into five homes in Waterlooville, Hampshire.

But the 42-year-old was inevitably caught by police after apparently failing to realise his movements were being logged by a GPS tracker that had been attached to his leg only a day earlier.

He was arrested and charged after police were able to easily track his location and match it to each crime scene.

Campbell, from Havant, pleaded guilty to the five burglaries and admitted to a further 12. He was jailed for eight years at Portsmouth Crown Court on Friday (6 October).

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said it believed it was the first time data from a GPS tracker of this kind had been used to secure a conviction.

Following the sentencing, James Kellam, Crown Advocate for the CPS Wessex, said: "Stuart Campbell is a prolific burglar with an appalling criminal history, having been before the courts 31 times for a total of 179 offences between 1987 and 2014."

Campbell's last conviction was in 2014 for three offences of burglary, for which he was imprisoned for six years.

He earned the nickname "The Creeper" during his previous crime sprees because he would creep into victims' bedrooms as they slept, stealing jewellery, cash and other valuables.

He was released from HMP Winchester on 21 June of this year and, upon his release, he voluntary agreed to have a GPS tracker fitted to his leg to allow police to monitor his movements.

The device was fitted on 23 June and despite Campbell failing to charge it as instructed the device remained operational until 24 June.

Kellam said: "The night after the tracker was fitted, Mr Campbell committed five burglaries in a residential area of Waterlooville. Stealing mainly contents of handbags, keys, credit cards and cash. He then got rid of the tracker by cutting it off.

"When analysing the data from the tracker the Integrated Offender Management Unit was able to trace Campbell's movement before he discarded the device. The data placed him at the scene of each and every burglary with which he was charged.

"Faced with the compelling evidence provided to us by Hampshire Police, he was left with no choice but to plead guilty.

"This case, which we believe is the first in which data from a GPS tracker has been used to secure a conviction, demonstrates how advancing technologies help us build stronger cases to put before the court."