A burglar who twice targeted an opticians in Halstead in a matter of weeks has been jailed.

Ryan Boreham, 26, targeted Wardale Williams Opticians in Halstead High Street overnight between June 28 and June 29, and again on July 14.

In total, he stole around 170 pairs of glasses and sunglasses with a retail value of nearly £30,000.

Both break-ins were captured on the store's CCTV, with Boreham joined by one accomplice in the first and two in the second.

Around six hours after the second incident, the owner of the opticians spotted three men walking past the shop, with one appearing to be wearing a pair of sunglasses with the same tags the shop used.

The owner reported the sighting to police, who located the men, one of whom was Boreham. He was found to have five pairs of sunglasses with tags on them in a carrier bag and arrested on suspicion of handling stolen goods. The other two men did not have any stolen goods on them.

Officers later searched an address in Elizabeth Way, Halstead, where Boreham was staying, where they discovered more stolen items. He was arrested on suspicion of burglary.

Using forensics, police identified Boreham's fingerprints at the scene of the crime, as well as traces of his DNA and charged him with two counts of burglary.

He pleaded guilty to the charges when appearing at Chelmsford Magistrates' Court on April 30 and later appeared at Chelmsford Crown Court on Thursday, May 30.

He was jailed for 28 months for each offence, running concurrently.

Investigating officer Pc Harry Gould said: "Ryan Boreham stole thousands of pounds worth of items, causing the business a significant loss.

"Not only that, but he brazenly flaunted the stolen items by wearing a pair of sunglasses he'd taken while walking past the shop just hours after one of the burglaries.

"Due to the evidence against him, he had no choice but to plead guilty and I hope he uses his sentence to reflect on his actions."