A burglar who vaulted from the dock saw his escape bid sink when he failed to get past the picturesque lake in the grounds of Snaresbrook Crown Court.

Ndricim Jakupi, 20, decided not to hang around when he realised prison was inevitable and ran out of the court, in Hollybush Hill, Snaresbrook, chased by security officers.

He dashed towards the lake and was caught as he considered to swim for it.

Jakupi and Shaip Selmani, also 20, had moments earlier been found guilty of a terrifying raid in which they held a kitchen knife to the throat of a South Woodford home owner before making off with valuables.

Among those were the man’s wedding ring and the keys to his friend’s Porsche Panamera which had been parked outside overnight.

The pair broke into the house in Avon Way wearing disguises at 5.30am on 21 June 2015 and woke their sleeping victim demanding: “Where are the car keys?”

Cigarette butts close to where the Porsche was spotted two days later identified the pair.

The burglary occurred just around the corner from Snaresbrook Crown Court where the two men were yesterday convicted by a jury after less than one-and-a-half hours’ deliberations.

After being remanded in custody overnight ahead of sentence Jakupi made a daring bid to escape in front of the packed courtroom.

Glenn Harris, for Jakupi, told the court: “It was at the moment, whether for the first time or not, the moment he appreciated that he was going to prison. The irony is that now he is liable for some extra time in custody.”

Jakupi, of Kenilworth Avenue, Walthamstow, and Selmani, of Vallentin Road, Walthamstow, were each jailed for eight-and-a-half years for aggravated burglary.

Jakupi was given a six month consecutive term for contempt after his failed escape bid.