A SINGLE fingerprint on a tea caddy led North Yorkshire Police to snaring a burglar.

Michael Halligan, 58, has been jailed for two burglaries carried out in the space of a week in Harrogate last September.

In the first, Halligan forced open a window of a home on Cheltenham Mount to steal a car key, £140, a watch and cash from a tea caddy on a windowsill.

Six days later a homeowner on Ripon Road woke to find Halligan standing over him in his apartment.

CSI examined the address of the first burglary and lifted a fingerprint from a tea caddy. Tests later revealed it belonged to Halligan.

After originally pleading not guilty to two counts of burglary, Halligan of Bramham Drive, Harrogate changed his plea at the start of the trail and was sentenced to four and a half years at York Crown Court on Tuesday for the two burglaries.