A teenager who called herself 'the Ninja' was jailed today after she helped a burglary gang raid 34 homes and steal items worth £320,000 including Christmas presents.

Katie Gilsenan, 18, from Sutton Leach near St Helens, Merseyside, teamed up with three men to break into properties across three counties, even stealing gifts from underneath Christmas trees.

The teenager was sentenced to three years behind bars today after she admitted burglary at Warrington Crown Court, while accomplices Kevin Andrews, 29, Kyle Andrews, 23, and Simon Bosworth, 27, were jailed for a total of 16 and a half years.

Katie Gilsenan, 18, (pictured left in her police mugshot) who called herself 'the Ninja', was jailed today after she helped a burglary gang raid 34 homes and steal items worth £320,000 including Christmas presents

The teenager (pictured) was sentenced to three years behind bars today after she admitted burglary at Warrington Crown Court

Police said Gilsenan and the three men would break into homes to steal car keys so they could take the vehicles and put cloned or stolen number plates on them.

In other burglaries they broke into houses and took high-value items, while the gang wrecked the Christmases of two families by looting their presents.

The total value of the property stolen reached in excess of £320,000.

Kevin Andrews, 29, (left) was jailed for six years while Kyle Andrews, 23, (right) was jailed for five years and two months

Simon Bosworth, 27, of St Helens was jailed for five years and four months, like Gilsenan (right) and the other two men he had admitted burglary

Between September and December 2014 police began investigating the gang after officers discovered a sudden increase of strikingly similar burglaries that were being committed across North Cheshire, Wigan, Bolton and St Helens.

Gilsenan, who called herself 'the Ninja' on her Facebook page where she posted numerous selfies showing her dolled up for nights out, was detained in December 2014 after an operation by the Cheshire and Greater Manchester Police forces.

Gilsenan called herself 'the Ninja' on her Facebook page, where she posted numerous selfies showing her dolled up for nights out

Police said Gilsenan and the three men would break into homes to steal car keys so they could steal their vehicles and put cloned or stolen number plates on them

Kevin Andrews of no fixed address was jailed for six years whilst Kyle Andrews, also of no fixed address was jailed for five years and two months. Bosworth, of St Helens was jailed for five years and four months. All three men pleaded guilty to burglary.

Detective Sergeant Nigel Rigby from Greater Manchester Police said after the case: 'This was a joint operation between us and Cheshire police to put an end to the spate of burglaries being committed by this group.

'The levels of research attached to the locating and selection of suitable 'cloned' number plates displayed a high level of organised criminality.

Police said that the gang, including Gilsenan (pictured) left two families 'devastated' after wrapped Christmas presents were stolen from underneath their festive trees

Gilsenan (pictured) was detained in December 2014 after an operation by the Cheshire and Greater Manchester Police forces

'They showed no signs of stopping whatsoever and two families were devastated to discover that their wrapped Christmas presents had been stolen from beneath the Christmas tree.

'Their motive was purely financial and their desire to acquire items of high value, ultimately lead to their downfall when some of these items were recovered upon their arrest.