Two burglars have been jailed for a combined total of six and a half years after ransacking a Greenhithe home.

Daniel Flynn and John Wall were arrested less than hour an hour after raiding the address in London Road on March 6.

Flynn, 31, formerly of Dartford, was jailed for 42 months after denying to one charge of burglary.

Wall, 45, formerly of Sidcup, received 38 months in prison.

Both were sentenced at Maidstone Crown Court on September 5.

The duo were caught in a car full of stolen goods after breaking in to the property between 2.50pm and 3.20pm.

The victim had popped out to pick up her child from school before walking back home.

Just before she reentered the address, she noticed a blue saloon car driving past her address and the occupants of the car beeped the horn and waved at her child, which she thought was odd.

She then entered her front porch and realised her front door had been smashed and her house ransacked.

The bedrooms had been worst hit, with contents of cupboards and drawers emptied out on the floor.

Jewellery, including a watch with great sentimental value, had been taken. She called the police immediately.

"Having your property broken into and ransacked is an incredible invasion of privacy and shatters the feeling of being secure in your own home..." - DC Robin Hemsley.

At 3.50pm, officers were in St Vincent's Road, Dartford, when they noticed a blue Volkswagen Passat saloon car.

The occupants - Wall and Flynn - were acting suspiciously and officers stopped them.

The pair claimed Wall had been driving Flynn around looking for building work and they had been on their way back to Gravesend when they were stopped by officers.

Patrols searched the car and located the stolen jewellery, as well as personal paperwork belonging to the victims.

Wall tried to convince the officers he had just bought some of the jewellery and that the rest of it was just 'old brass' he allowed his children to play with.

However, the officers were not fooled and arrested both on suspicion of burglary dwelling.

DC Robin Hemsley said: "Having your property broken into and ransacked is an incredible invasion of privacy and shatters the feeling of being secure in your own home - something every resident has the right to feel.

"Wall and Flynn raided their victim's home when they saw an opportunity and, had it not been for the quick work of our patrols, would have got away with items that were irreplaceable.

"While I am very pleased these men will now serve time behind bars as a punishment for their action, I would ask all members of the public to be vigilant.

"If you see somebody acting suspiciously, report it to police. We have specially trained officers dedicated to tackling burglary and our aim is to use every tool at our disposal to find and arrest offenders and bring them before the courts to answer for their crimes."