An East Ham car thief who was caught with the help of a vehicle tracker has been jailed for three years.

Dominic Francis, 23, of High Street North, was found guilty of burglary and taking a motor vehicle without the owner’s consent on Wednesday, July 29.

Jurors at Chelmsford Crown Court heard how the owner of an Audi Q5 reported the car missing from his home in Sible Hedingham, Essex, on November 21 last year.

A tracker in the car was activated and led police to an address in Loughton, where they found the Audi along with a Ford Focus that had been stolen in Braintree six days earlier.

Francis’ DNA was found on a fizzy drink bottle inside the Focus.

CCTV images showed both vehicles at a petrol station in Stansted on the day the Audi was stolen, with Francis driving it.

Investigating officer Dc Christopher Sedgwick said: “I am pleased with the sentence handed out by the judge.

“It serves as a warning to burglars that we will catch you and put you before the courts.”

Francis was sentenced to three years for the burglary and 12 weeks for taking the vehicle, to run concurrently.