A BURGLAR has been jailed after being identified by his finger prints three years after his crime.

Barry Thomas stole a handbag from a woman in her eighties as she shopped in Calcot in January 2013.

The handbag contained her keys and details of her address in Bitterne Avenue.

She returned home later the same day and found her front door ajar and her handbag discarded in a bush.

She called a neighbour who searched the house and found the 38-year-old burglar.

They tackled Thomas but he said he had a knife and made his escape in a waiting vehicle.

Three years later Thomas, of no fixed abode, was arrested in connection with another offence and his finger prints linked him to the burglary.

Investigating officer, detective constable Andrea Parsons, said: "This was a frightening experience for the victim and so I am delighted for her that justice has been served.

"This conviction coming three years after the crime also serves as a reminder that we do not give up searching for perpetrators of crimes and also shows our commitment to victims of crime."

Thomas was sentenced to four years in prison after being convicted of burglary by an unanimous jury at Reading Crown Court on Thursday, July 7.