A BRAZEN burglar was captured on CCTV trying to break into a care home.

Ryan Etherton snatched a handbag belonging to a resident at the Southdowns Nursing Home in Hastings.

The unemployed 43-year-old was spotted trying door handles inside.

Staff realised what had happened when they found a fire escape door damaged and open at the home in Hollington Park Road.

Etherton admitted burglary and theft when he appeared at Lewes Crown Court earlier this month.

It was revealed that CCTV footage was used to identify him, and his mobile phone was also found at the scene near the empty handbag which he left behind.

His DNA was on a bottle of spray cleaner which he was shown on the footage using. Etheron, of Malvern Way, Hastings, was jailed for 20 months.

The police said Etherton had targeted the building, knowing there were elderly and vulnerable people inside.