A man dubbed Britain's most prolific burglar' by detectives after he admitted committing 2,636 burglaries, 442 of them in Barnet, was jailed for seven years at Harrow Crown Court on Friday.

Jamaican-born Norman Sinclair, 46, of no fixed abode, is thought to have stolen up to £5 million-worth of jewellery, credit cards and cash in a nine-year crime spree.

Before he was caught, Sinclair was listed on the Scotland Yard web site as one of its most wanted criminals. The crack addict estimates he spent up to £3,000 in one day on the drug, using it to pay prostitutes for sex.

He has been jailed after admitting 13 burglaries between December 1997 and January this year, but at an earlier hearing asked for another 2,646 to be taken into consideration at sentencing.

But he has now withdrawn that admission, saying he cannot remember the details of all the offences.

The court heard that Sinclair described himself to police officers as a successful burglar and that on one occasion his total haul from a burglary was around £100,000.

Sentencing, Judge Nic Madge said: "It appears that you have been a persistent burglar for the past 30 years.

"I am satisfied that you are a skilled and professional burglar. You have, to use the words of the Court of Appeal, behaved as a predator preying on your fellow citizens."

Andrew Dowden, prosecuting, said during his crime spree Sinclair had been arrested only to be released on bail to commit more burglaries.

Sinclair, who claims to have since found God, was also something of a Robin Hood' character, donating some of his ill-gotten gains to charity, making one donation to Homerton Hospital.

He even contacted some of his victims to tell them which pawn shops were holding items of sentimental value and has also tried to lead police to the thousands of addresses he raided. The law finally caught up with Sinclair in March this year at Dover as he tried to leave the country on a false passport after his picture featured on the BBC's Crimewatch programme. Forensic evidence gathered at different crime scenes had led police to conclude that one man was responsible for a large number of burglaries.

When arrested, Sinclair, currently held at HMP Wormwood Scrubs prison, told officers his diagnosis with HIV had sparked his crime spree.

After sentencing, Detective Sergeant Darren Montgomery, of Barnet CID, said: "Norman Sinclair is a career criminal. He previously admitted committing 2,636 residential burglaries and asked that the court take these into consideration.

"Having withdrawn this today, we will be liaising with the CPS Crime Prosecution Service about any further proceedings."

Sinclair has previously been jailed for burglaries in the 1980s and Nineties in Kingston, Stafford, Preston, Doncaster, Leicester and Warwick.