A serial burglar who snatched £5,000 in jewellery from a Radlett house, despite claiming he had turned over a new leaf, had his 10-year jail term slashed today.

Andrew Kent, 39, was put behind bars at St Albans Crown Court in March 2016 after jurors convicted him of the burglary.

Judge Martin Picton told London's Appeal Court that the householder returned home to find that rooms had been comprehensively searched.

Kent fled with jewellery and silverware worth at least £5,000, bundling his loot into a bag he found in the house.

But he was captured on CCTV as he left, said Judge Picton.

On top of the valuables' high value they were of "intense sentimental worth".

The 10-year term passed on Kent took account of four previous burglaries he committed in 2015.

On top of that, the judge who jailed him "took into consideration" over 200 previous offences.

Kent was previously spared jail for those crimes after he was singled out for a "choices and consequences" rehabilitation course as an alternative to custody.

But Judge Jonathan Carroll had condemned him as a "deeply manipulative" man who had learned nothing from the rehabilitation process.

Kent, of Watling Street, Radlett, challenged his sentence today, arguing that he had been too harshly punished.

Judge Picton, sitting with Lord Justice Treacy and Mrs Justice Whipple, noted Kent's "simply appalling record".

He had, the court heard, committed "numerous dwelling house burglaries in the past".

But the judge concluded that the total 10-year sentence was "too long", cutting it to eight years.