A thief dubbed Britain’s dumbest criminal was caught – after getting a taxi home from a burglary.
Mark James, 34, broke into a house and stole electrical items – and then hailed a cab outside.
James, of Helston, Cornwall, took the taxi home but a witness told police she’d seen him getting in the taxi.
Officers contacted the cab firm and traced the driver who told police the address he’d taken James too.
He was arrested and admitted two burglaries within five days of being released on licence from a three-year jail sentence.
Judge Graham Cottle sentenced him to four years in prison at Truro Crown Court.
He said: ”You are a prolific offender. It appears you have chosen from an early age to live a life of crime.”
Jeremy Leaning, defending, said James was ”no professional” who had not used any vehicle or tools and had not converted any of the stolen goods into cash.