A Liverpool man has appeared before magistrates' court charged with three house burglaries in which the keys to high-value vehicles were allegedly stolen.

Blackburn Magistrates' Court heard two of the cars, a BMW and a Mini Cooper, were also driven away from one of the properties.

All three houses were entered while the occupants were at home in the early hours of Wednesday, the court was told.

Setting out the case, Nasima Patel, prosecuting, said there "was a problem with cross-border offending, especially in Blackburn, where there seemed to be a higher-than-average attraction to high-performance vehicles".

Roy Pearson, 30, of Lyme Cross Road, Liverpool, faced charges of burglary at an address in Old Gates Drive and theft of keys to a BMW and a Mini Cooper; burglary at a dwelling in Dalby Crescent and theft of car keys, designer accessories, bank cards, driving licence, NHS identification card and other items of an unknown value; and burglary of a house on Preston Old Road and theft of the keys to a motorhome, keys to a Ford Transit, cash and other items to a total value of £965.

Pearson was sent in custody to Preston Crown Court after District Judge Alexandra Preston ruled her powers were insufficient.