A BRAZEN burglar dropped into a supermarket via the ceiling.

CCTV footage showed the moment the Liam Whybrow broke into the Tesco Express store in Dominion Road in Worthing.

The 28-year-old is seen kicking through the ceiling of the converted old pub, then landing by the front door.

He then runs to the tills and rips out one of the trays, before vaulting over the counter back to where he entered.

Footage shows him with a hooded top masking his face, throwing the till into the ceiling space.

It was later found abandoned to the rear of the shop.

Police investigating the case were able to link the prolific offender to the burglary after spotting footprints.

“But they were not the sole clue in solving the crime,” they said.

He had also left fingerprints on the till, and PC Tom Mills brought in Darcey to pursue a trail to a garden shed in nearby Angola Road, where he was found hiding.

Whybrow, of Angola Road, was charged with burglary, and he also faced six other charges and was jailed for a total of 40 weeks.

He admitted the charges at Crawley Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday.

PC Tom Mills said: “A key piece of evidence gathered for this prosecution was the link from the crime scene to the shed, where Whybrow was found hiding.

“Going by scent alone is a near impossible task for humans, but a relatively simple one for dogs.

“Darcey, who is a four-year-old German Shepherd, is able to do this in two ways – by smelling the air and following the scent in the wind, or by following a track someone has made on foot.

“Skills such as these are invaluable in bringing criminals to justice.”

Unemployed Whybrow was sentenced to 16 weeks in prison for the crime at 2am on Saturday, July 14.

Magistrates also imposed 24 weeks in custody after he admitted harassing Faye Cariss between May 30 and June 4 this year, alongside a two-year restraining order.

He was given concurrent sentences for using abusive language to Richard Cariss on April 17, assaulting Lydia Bohea in the Tesco store and stealing meat there on July 1, and assaulting a police officer on July 14. The court told him to pay a total of £486 compensation and £300 court costs.