Two burglars have been jailed after police were led from a crime scene to their front door in under an hour – by following bicycle tracks in the frost.
Christian Smyth, 19, and Philip Davies, 21, smashed a window before stealing jewellery, a watch and a camera worth hundreds of pounds from a bungalow in Leicester.
But police arrested the hapless pair within one hour of the burglary after they followed bicycle tracks in the frost to Smyth’s front door.
The pair were caught red-handed with the stolen goods and admitted carrying out the burglary at around 10pm on February 19 this year.
Smyth was given a 12-month detention sentence and Davies was jailed for one year.
Sentencing the pair on Friday at Leicester Crown Court Judge Simon Hammond described the bicycle tracks as ”good fortune” for the police.
He said: ”It’s good fortune there was frost on the ground because it led the police to them.
”It’s a serious offence. Anyone who has been burgled never forgets the experience. For many people, their homes are never the same again.”