A man has been accused of burgling houses while victims were in their bed and then selling items at nearby pawn shops the following day.

Hazret Zmakaj of Wayfarer Road, Ealing appeared before Swindon Magistrates Court on Thursday, August 31 facing six charges of burglary and did not enter a plea.

Ben May, prosecuting told Magistrates how the 25-year-old allegedly committed multiple ‘creeper burglaries’ in which Zmakaj broke into houses and would steal items while the person was asleep or in some cases led in bed pretending to sleep.

The six counts of burglary are alleged to have taken place in Cricklade, Crawley, Pitstone, Great Missenden and Swindon between June 30 and July 28.

Mr May requested that Zmakaj be remanded in custody, but his defence solicitor Tim Morgan persuaded magistrates that he be released on conditional bail.

Zmakaj had appeared previously before Swindon Magistrates Court charged with three other charges of burglary on July 25 and had been released on conditional bail.

These three charges are alleged to have taken place in Wroughton and Cricklade within the same time span.

Mr Morgan argued that Zmakaj had obeyed all of his bail conditions from this previous court appearance, magistrates therefore granted him conditional bail.

The further six charges had taken place before he appeared in court and therefore were not a breach of his bail.

Zmakaj has been released on conditional bail and will appear at Swindon Crown Court on September 22 alongside the co-defendants in the original three charges.

He will face a total of nine burglary charges, combining those from his appearance at court on July 25 and those on August 31.

The conditions of his bail are: to abide by an electronic tag between 7pm until 7am every day; to not leave the greater London area; not to contact his co-defendants and to suspend his passport.