A burglar who claimed he was a good Samaritan trying to prevent a break in has been jailed.

Daniel Brunger crept into a woman’s house in Murston Road, Murston, Sittingbourne, just a few hundred metres from his own home in Woodberry Drive, and stole her purse while she slept.

His victim woke at 5am on June 7 to find muddy footprints tracked across her living room carpet and her purse and bank cards missing.

When she contacted her bank to report the theft, she was told someone had tried and failed to withdraw £250 from a local shop.

Detectives from Kent Police's Swale burglary team studied CCTV from the shop and identified Brunger as the man attempting to withdraw the cash.

He was arrested the following day and at first denied the offence, claiming he had witnessed the burglary taking place and tried to stop it.

Brunger was sentenced to 18 months in prison at Maidstone Crown Court on September 11 after pleading guilty to one count of burglary dwelling and theft.

The 27-year-old also admitted one count of fraud, for which he was sentenced to nine months in prison to run concurrently.

Investigating officer, DC Richard Allingham of Kent Police, said: “Brunger tried to paint himself as a good Samaritan who witnessed this crime taking place and tried to intervene.

“However, he began getting tangled up in his own lies and eventually admitted he had attempted to steal money from this victim's card in order to pay for some drugs.”

A 16-year-old boy also charged in connection with the break-in is due to appear at Medway Youth Court on September 23.