A DOORSTEP conman's likeness to a Coronation Street star landed him in jail last night.

A judge described the crimes of John Paul Thomas and his accomplice, John Paul Connors, as despicable after the pair targeted the homes of vulnerable pensioners across the North.

Durham Crown Court heard it was Thomas's resemblance to soap character Tyrone Dobbs - played by actor Alan Halsall - which became a recurring description given by his victims.

It helped police in an inquiry spanning six police forces from Leicestershire to the Scottish border, including Durham and North Yorkshire.

Thomas, 27, and 16-year-old Connors, both from Leeds, were eventually caught after a car chase with police after they struck twice in North Yorkshire, in September last year.

While on bail, Thomas struck another four times before being arrested again earlier this year.

Detectives believed the duo may have carried out up to 42 crimes, involving victims aged 67 to 93, and including one blind and several infirm householders, three of whom have since died.

Police investigated up to 150 similar offences across the North and Midlands.

Both admitted a charge of conspiracy to burgle at an earlier hearing. They were brought back before the court for sentence yesterday, when the court heard that Thomas admitted involvement in ten burglaries, while Connors' plea related to four of the cases, plus driving while disqualified.

David Bradshaw, prosecuting, said the duo mainly posed as water company engineers, with one keeping the victim talking while the other searched the home.

Mr Bradshaw said: "In more than one case, the witnesses gave a description of the character Tyrone in Coronation Street. It was a feature of the offences up and down the area."

He added that forensic evidence also played its part in pinning the pair to some of the offences.

Nicholas Lumley, mitigating for father-of-three Thomas, said he was an ex-soldier, who, on his discharge after five years in the Household Cavalry, developed a drug habit, which the offences helped to fund.

Simon Batiste, for Connors, said he came under the influence of others, who led the offences. He said: "He can, in no way, be called the mastermind."

The court heard neither defendant had any previous convictions for burglary.

Jailing Thomas for four-and-a-half years, and giving Connors a three-year detention and training order, Judge Peter Armstrong said: "You were involved in a team deliberately targeting elderly people's houses in order to carry out distraction and bogus official burglaries.

"The offences can only be described as despicable."

* In November 2003, The Northern Echo launched its Doorsteppers campaign to try to stamp out the menace of bogus callers.