TWO burglars have been jailed after one was caught leaving a house in Swanley carrying stolen war medals.

Connor Reed, 19, was arrested in the garden of a house in Crescent Gardens on September 7 carrying the medals along with a watch and a bottle of rum.

His accomplice Aragorn Dudley, 20, was found by officers hiding in a downstairs toilet with an MP3 player, charger and headphones.

The pair were reported to have knocked at the door of a house, looked through a window and then made their way to the rear of the property.

Officers scaled the back wall and found a ladder propped up against the rear of the building and a first floor window open.

At Maidstone Crown Court on December 19 both Reed and Dudley, previously of Britton Street, Gillingham, were sentenced to 22 months in prison.

Reed also admitted three further burglaries – one in Meopham and two in Gillingham.

Detective Constable Neil Buckle said: “Thanks to the quick-thinking of the man who reported his suspicions we were able to arrest the suspects at the scene and recover all the property that might well have otherwise been lost forever.”