A career criminal with convictions dating back 27 years has been jailed for eight years for handling stolen goods.

Neville Woods pleaded guilty on Wednesday, halfway through his Supreme Court trial for burglary.

He maintained he was innocent of committing two house break-ins in St. David's on May 20 but admitted he'd handled the jewellery taken.

The trial heard how Woods, 41, from St. David's, dived headfirst into the sea after Police spotted him acting suspiciously in the area on the afternoon of the burglaries.

Detective Constable Peter Stableford jumped into the sea after Woods and later went diving and retrieved jewellery items from the area where he'd tried to hide.

Sentencing Woods yesterday in the wake of his guilty plea, Puisne Judge Carlisle Greaves heard Det. Con. Stableford list his catalogue of previous crimes. These include robbery armed with a machete, house and commercial burglaries and receiving stolen goods.

Woods, who's unemployed and single, was described as a long-term drug addict by his defence lawyer Shade Subair. He's spent time in jail on multiple occasions in the past and was only released on January 28 this year less than five months before his latest crimes. He's been in prison on remand since May 28 and that time will be knocked off his sentence.

Meting out the jail term yesterday, Mr. Justice Greaves said: "You have a record for thieving in many ways you have much more than a dozen break-ins, numerous thefts, armed robbery and a lot more. Your actions and record clearly demonstrate that whenever you are free, people's property shall be in jeopardy."