A dozy criminal caught bang to rights after leaving a shoe print at a crime scene near Tunbridge Wells has pleaded guilty to burglary.

Forensic tests on clothing worn by Michael Smith also detected small fragments of glass which matched a broken window of a property he entered in Langton Green earlier this year.

On August 28 people living at a home Barrow Lane returned to find someone had forced entry though a downstairs window.

They discovered footprints on the floor and sofa but believed the intruder had been disturbed as nothing was stolen.

Two days later, Smith, aged 27 and of Allandale Road, Tunbridge Wells was arrested.

Clothing he had been wearing was seized, including trainers, a hooded top and tracksuit bottoms. Forensic analysis provided compelling evidence Smith had smashed the window.

A sole of one of his trainers also matched a mark left inside the property.

Smith denied breaking into the home and told police it must have been someone else, who had used his clothing and trainers.

Despite his protestations, he appeared at Maidstone Crown Court on Thursday, November 10 and pleaded guilty to an offence of burglary with intent to steal.

Smith was remanded into custody for sentencing at the same court on December 1.

Detective Inspector Graham Curtis said: "The crucial evidence obtained by our crime scene investigators left Smith with no choice but to plead guilty.

"We are currently running our annual burglary campaign, Operation Castle, to clamp down on offenders like Smith and his conviction should serve as a reminder to criminals that we will continue to pursue them relentlessly."