A BUNGLING burglar managed to escape the long arm of the law when his getaway van broke down.

But Mitchell James’s luck ran out when he left a string of clues that led detectives straight to his door.

His name was on a probation service appointment card left in the white Peugeot vehicle and his DNA was on gloves found inside.

Although he had bought the van just days earlier, he had already registered it in his name.

James, 24, of Roundhill Close, Thornhill Park, Southampton, had been part of a gang who targeted Superdrug in Poole on February 7. Their £21,000 haul included a safe containing £8,400, perfumes and aftershaves.

But police were alerted by a man walking along Bitterne Road in Southampton who saw the white van break down in a lay-by. Five people jumped out, some getting into another vehicle and others running into woodland.

Officers discovered the safe and a large quantity of assorted perfumes and aftershaves in Superdrug boxes inside the van.

They also found an angle grinder, sledgehammer and rotary drill.

Unemployed James pleaded guilty to burglary.

In mitigation, Tom Horder said his client had been hoping to use the van for painting and decorating work.

He told Bournemouth Crown Court: “His role was the getaway driver; he wasn’t the organiser.

He received a call asking him if his van could be used and he stupidly said yes. At the time money was incredibly tight.

“The circumstances – the van breaking down and the letter from the probation service – show the rudimentary nature of this offence.”

Imposing a 52-week prison sentence, suspended for two years, Recorder Rosie Collins said: “Retail companies are having real difficulties these days in managing to keep afloat. They can’t afford people like you breaking into their premises just because you want some extra money.”

James told her: “I made a silly mistake; I was trying to support my children. I know it was a wrong thing to do. I have been trying to get work; it is very difficult at the moment. It’s my own fault; I just have to learn a lesson from this."

He was also ordered to take part in a thinking skills programme.