Bungling burglars who left a stolen mobile phone at the scene of a second break-in have been jailed.

Lee Magee, 34, of Shorland Court, Rochester, and Justin Rolls, 40, of John Street, Rochester, left the Nokia handset at a property in the Hempstead area of Gillingham, which they forced their way into in the early hours of Wednesday, February 10.

It had been stolen earlier that morning from a house in Borstal, which helped police link the offences and prove the men were responsible for both.

Magee has been jailed for 21 months and Rolls for 16 months when they appeared at Maidstone Crown Court for sentencing on Friday.

Both men had admitted the burglaries and also to stealing a car from the Borstal address.

Magee pleaded guilty to an additional charge of possessing heroin, after 2.8g of the class A drug were found during a search of his home.

The court heard how the men were arrested in Luton Road at about 2.45am on Wednesday, February 10, when officers recognised them as the occupants of a Citroen C3 that had failed to stop for them 20 minutes earlier.

Magee was carrying a bag containing a change of clothes, gloves and a torch while Rolls was wearing two sets of clothes and was also in possession of a pair of gloves. He was carrying a Tottenham Hotspur key ring and a white iPhone which turned out to be stolen.

Both men had used a tool to force their way in through the front door of a house in Borstal while the occupant was asleep upstairs. They stole his mobile telephone and £100 , as well as the Citroen that was later found abandoned on Church Hill, Chatham.

They used the same technique to enter the second property in Hempstead, where the key ring and iPhone found in Rolls’ possession were stolen. It was also where they left the phone taken from the house in Borstal.

"The evidence against both men was overwhelming" - PC Danny James

Investigating officer PC Danny James said: "The victims of these burglaries were understandably distressed to wake up and find that these two criminals had broken into their homes while they were asleep and unaware of what was happening.

"Offences of this nature can have a long-lasting emotional impact on those affected, and I hope the sentencing of Lee Magee and Justin Rolls provides them with some small comfort.

"The evidence against both men was so overwhelming that they had little choice but to plead guilty to the charges brought against them, and I am pleased they will now serve time behind bars."