A man who broke into a home and stole jewellery, a television, and a Mercedes E250 parked on the driveway has been put behind bars.

Christopher Grinham targeted a house in Dornden Drive, Langton Green, while the owners were away on New Years.

Between December 31, 2022 and January 1, 2023, Grinham forced entry to the home and made a mess of the house while searching for things to steal.

Detectives from the Kent Crime Squad identified that the victim’s stolen car had been driven from Tunbridge Wells towards Croydon, accompanied by a hire car.

The hire car had been rented by one of Grinham’s associates and further investigation proved he had travelled to the scene of the crime before returning home.

The stolen Mercedes was later recovered from a road in Addington, Surrey.

On January 11, Grinham, of Kings Walk, South Croydon, was arrested at his home address.

He was later charged with burglary, theft of a car, driving whilst disqualified and driving without insurance.

Grinham pleaded guilty at Maidstone Crown Court and yesterday at the same court, the 43-year-old was sentenced to four years' imprisonment.

DC Josh Littley said: "Criminals from London think they can travel into Kent anonymously and commit crime without being arrested.

"This latest conviction is one of a number that show our diligent investigations will relentlessly pursue every line of inquiry to ensure offenders experience an early morning visit from our officers.

"They are then swiftly brought to justice."