A GANG of thieves raided a newly built housing estate before trying to steal boilers and wreaking £10,000 worth of damage.

Mihal Romandas, together with an accomplice, drove from Northamptonshire to the Ampthill Way, Faringdon, estate to ransack the homes which had been made ready for their new owners.

The 44-year-old Moldovan national of Ellfield Court, Northampton had already admitted five counts of burglary with intent to steal.

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Oxford Crown Court heard at his sentencing hearing today how one of his accomplices - Petru Urdeia - was on the run and believed to be in the Netherlands.

Romandas was jailed for his part in the boiler thefts plot and for acting as the 'getaway driver'.

Outlining the case prosecutor Cathy Olliver said the Bovis Homes housing estate had recently been completed and some occupants had already settled in.

The five houses which were targeted by the gang, however, were all empty but ready for occupancy.

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It was a suspicious neighbour who first called police at about midnight on October 26 last year.

When officers arrived they discovered the thieves had broken in through either a patio or front door before making efforts to steal boilers from each home.

The court heard that while the thieves had switched off the gas and water supply the break-ins had caused 'considerable damage' and heavy flooding.

It was estimated that the damage cost about £10,000 in repair work.

Ms Ollier said: "Some owners about to move in found their home completely ruined because of the physical damage."

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Romandas was caught in a van at the scene and he later admitted his role in the burglaries.

In mitigation at the hearing his defence barrister Francis Howard said that his client was sorry for what he had done and called the offending an 'aberration.'

He said: "He has expressed before his regret and remorse.

"It is a subordinate role in a gang. He is of previous good character and exemplary conduct.

"This is an aberration in relation to his normal behaviour."

He added that Romandas also has no previous convictions.

Sentencing, Judge Maria Lamb said: "They may have been unoccupied premisses at the time but these were homes in which people, families, were going to be moving.

"What you were involved in that night represents in my view offending which falls firmly in category one [the most serious category].

"What you did was aggravated by the fact this was offending at night time and you were a member of a gang."

Romandas was jailed for a total of 17 months and must pay a victim surcharge.

No court costs or compensation was ordered at the hearing.