A burglar who stole a car from up north then targeted a property in Hythe, taking 'irreplacable' items, has been jailed.

Vincent Smith was caught after stealing thousands of pounds worth of property and sentimental jewellery from the house on Monday, December 18.

A court heard how the 37-year-old used a car he stole from a house in Gloucester the previous month in order to carry out the Kent crime.

A witness saw the car near the property in Hythe at the time of the burglary, between 2pm and 3pm, and reported it to police.

Officers were able to link the car, travelling on false plates in Kent, to Smith through a number of enquiries including with Gloucestershire Constabulary and the use of automatic number plate recognition (ANPR).

Smith was spotted driving the vehicle in the Folkestone area on Tuesday, December 19 last year and tried to escape police.

He dumped the car in a cul-de-sac and hid the keys under some pebbles.

The car was later recovered by officers and was discovered to have stolen goods inside, belonging to the victims of the burglary in Hythe.

Smith of The Cloisters, Bishop’s Cleave in Cheltenham was arrested in Gloucestershire two days later and brought to Kent for questioning where he admitted to the burglary in Hythe.

He was sentenced to three years and four months in prison at Gloucestershire Crown Court on Friday, October 12.

His prison sentence included his conviction for burgling the house in Cheltenham where he stole the car.

Kent Police investigating officer Detective Constable Bethany Gumley said: "The items taken during the Hythe break-in were of great sentimental value to the victims and are simply irreplaceable, many of which we’ve been unable to recover.

"Burglary can have such a devastating effect on people and thankfully by working with witnesses and Gloucestershire Constabulary we have been able to seek justice for the victims."