POLICE believe they may have come within a whisker of catching a thief dubbed the Jackal this weekend after a burglar struck four times on the same street.

The homes on Kirkhead Road, Grange-over-Sands, were broken into between Friday, November 1 and Saturday 2 and more than £1,000 worth of jewellery was taken from a single property.

Police were alerted when a man - believed to be the Jackal - was spotted by a member of the public lingering in a private driveway in Allithwaite.

A dozen officers, including dog handlers, flocked to the property at Jack Hill, Allithwaite, to scour the area but the man had escaped across fields beside the house.

Nothing had been taken from the property but door-to-door police inquiries in the area revealed a number of homes had already been targeted that night in Grange.

The Jackal - believed to be a professional criminal - is thought to have been responsible for dozens of burglaries in the Kent Estuary.

The man is renowned for forcing patio doors and windows before carrying out a careful property search and making off with small items such as cash or jewellery.

His light touch is such that many people do not realise they have been burgled until much later.

Police described the Grange burglaries as "Jackal-style crimes" and urged vigilance.

The latest crime spate follows four burglaries last week in Cartmel to the tune of more than £7,000, which police said were consistent with the methods used by the Jackal.

Inspector Paul Duhig, of Kendal Police, said: "Without being alarmist we would like to appeal to people to be vigilant.

We are putting a lot of resources into this through crime prevention and proactive investigation but there are things people can do to protect themselves.

If they see anything suspicious they should contact police."