Car thief jailed and banned from driving

A burglar who was caught half an hour after stealing a car has been jailed.

The owners were woken by their dog barking and the sound of screeching tyres at 3.25am on Sunday 21 June.

They saw their Peugeot 308 had been stolen from outside their home in Bedford Close, Braintree.

The burglar had got into the house through the front door and taken a handbag containing the car keys and a purse from inside the porch.

Officers spotted the stolen car thirty minutes later on the A12 at Brentwood.

The driver – Harry Adams - was stopped and arrested.

The 21-year-old of Fernhill Street in Woolwich, London, admitted burglary and theft of a motor vehicle when he appeared at Chelmsford Crown Court on Monday 20 July.

He was jailed for a total of 18 months and ordered to pay a £156 victim surcharge.

Adams was also banned from driving for two years and three months.

The car owner said: “This incident has been devastating and had a huge impact on my whole family.

“I am glad that the person involved has been charged now as it has put my mind at rest.

“I have to give credit to Essex Police for finding my car so quickly – we are so lucky to have gotten the vehicle back.

“Officers were brilliant and it was fantastic for us.”