A man who posed as a plumber to burgle a disabled woman has been jailed.

John Gallagher, 41, of Ambleside Close in Leyton, was sentenced to six years and nine months after helping steal £150 from a disabled woman and her 88-year-old husband in Watford.

He pretended to be a plumber while his accomplice, 43-year-old John Kerrigan, of Hyde Close in Romford, took £150 from their bedroom.

The pair were arrested last August after knocking on the doors of homes in Borehamwood when suspicious neighbours phoned the police.

When officers arrived the pair sped off in a Ford Transit van, but decided to abandon their escape attempt when police cornered them in a cul-de-sac.

Gallagher and Kerrigan pleaded guilty to the attempted distraction burglaries earlier this week at their trial at St Albans Crown Court.

Kerrigan also pleaded guilty to driving whilst being disqualified.

He was sentenced to four years and three months and was disqualified from driving for a year.