A burglar who stole about £50,000 worth of designer clothes and shoes from a home in Chigwell has been jailed.

Edward Williams broke into an address in Manor Road, on the night of October 7, 2017 and stole the clothing.

Less than a week later on October 13, a woman in her 40s came home to her address in Hutton to find someone had tried to break into her house.

CCTV from the area showed a blue Ford Mondeo arriving at the address and parking on the drive at around 11am before driving off a short time later.

A man then returns to the address within a few minutes and walks down the side of the home.

At around 11.15am the man is seen walking away from the address towards the Mondeo.

The vehicle was later identified as being a hire car.

Essex Police located the person who had hired the vehicle and established they had a connection with Williams and had let him drive it.

When officers carried out a search warrant at an address in Rainham they found a number of items of designer clothing which was later confirmed as belonging to the victim in Chigwell, a woman in her 20s.

Through further investigations officers were also able to put Williams in the area of Manor Road at the time of the break-in.

Officers spoke to Williams on January 5, 2018 and he appeared at Basildon Magistrates’ Court on October 11 where he was charged with burglary, attempted burglary, and theft.

Williams, 35, of no fixed address, pleaded guilty to the charges at Basildon Crown Court on Monday, February 11 and was jailed for three years and four months.

After sentencing, Det Sgt David Wilkinson, from Brentwood CID, said: “Edward Williams has little regard for other people’s property.

“He ransacked the home of his victim, stealing thousands of pounds worth items.

“Burglaries are horrible, invasive crimes and can often leave their victims feeling that their private space has been violated.

“I hope Williams thinks about this while he’s behind bars and I’m glad he’s off our streets.”