A cheeky burglar made his excuses to the homeowner whose house he had sneaked into by claiming he was looking for his cat.

A resident in Hobbs Lane in Beckley, near Rye, came across a man in his house at 4.50pm on Saturday August 23 who claimed he was looking for his cat.

It was later discovered that £40 had been stolen from a handbag.

The man is described as white, 5' 8" and aged 20 to 25 with short dark hair and was wearing a long-sleeved dark top and dark trousers with white oriental writing down the side.

Any witness or anyone with information is asked to email 101@sussex.pnn.police.uk or call 101 quoting serial 1183 of 23/08.