A bungling burglar was snared after being filmed joyriding in a stolen car - before parking it directly outside his own home.

Rory Bassett, 18, made off with the Vauxhall Corsa after smashing through the back door of a home in Dover and pinching the car keys, as the occupants slept upstairs.

Prosecutor Andrew Forsyth said: “A bank card belonging to the house-holder as well as two phones were stolen.

“Also stolen were a house key and a key to a Vauxhall Corsa, the defendant unlocked the front door and left via that route.”

The burglary happened in Dour Street at about about 2am in February this year, when Bassett found the Corsa parked in nearby Goodfellow Way.

“That vehicle was stolen and cameras show the vehicle travelling in the Dover area for some hours following this,” Mr Forsyth added.

Bassett even exposed his identity on a petrol station’s CCTV when he used the stolen bank card to buy Jack Daniel’s whisky and snacks, totalling £41.40.

Police found the stolen Corsa parked outside Bassett’s home shortly after the theft was reported. When he was arrested the stolen keys were found inside his bag.

Bassett, who gave a no comment police interview, was in breach of a community order for two similar crimes when he committed the burglary - on one occasion he stole the keys to a Mazda Sport and made off.

But probation services didn’t activate the breach following the latest burglary, as Bassett had complied well with the order and began changing his ways.

His barrister James Burke told Judge Simon James his client suffered trauma as a child and was diagnosed on the autism disorder spectrum.

“He is working very hard to change his ways,” the lawyer continued.

But judge Simon James replied: “What I don’t understand is how (the psychological issues) are connected to him going into people’s homes and stealing their cars?”

He dubbed Bassett’s behaviour “casual calculated dishonesty” before sentencing him to eight months inside a Young Offenders’ Institute.

Bassett, of Mill Road, Deal, was convicted of burglary, fraud, driving without a licence or insurance and taking a motor vehicle without consent.

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