A MAN has been jailed for burgling a home in Brighton and taking a car without consent.

Wayne Lavender, aged 44, of no fixed address, broke into a property on Withdean Crescent on June 16, 2019 after a day of drinking on Brighton beach with Adam Newton, 31, of Earlham Grove, London.

Lavender took an iPhone and a set of car keys from inside the property and drove away from the scene with Newton inside the vehicle.

A witness saw Lavender exit the house and get into the car. She reported the incident to police immediately.

An ANPR camera picked up the car travelling north on the A23 a short time later.

Police stopped the vehicle and the two men were subsequently arrested.

Lavender said in police interviews that he took the car because he was “sick of walking” and wanted to drive to London.

Lavender was sentenced to two years and five months for burglary, two months for taking a motor vehicle without consent, and two months for failing to provide a breath specimen to be served consecutively. He was asked to pay a victim surcharge of £181 and disqualified from driving for 27 months.

Newton was jailed for two months for being carried in a motor vehicle taken without consent and asked to pay a victim surcharge of £122.

Detective Constable Aaron Halsey said: “We hope this sentence sends a clear message that Sussex Police will not tolerate any sort of criminality and will work to bring offenders to justice.”