A BURGLAR left behind a vital clue after raiding a house - his false teeth.

Police who arrived at the scene found the missing choppers and four days later reunited them with owner David Richmond.

The 34-year-old bungling burglar was jailed for two years at Teesside Crown Court.

The court heard how Richmond lost them when he fell out of a window in Eaglescliffe, near Stockton.

In his hurry to escape, the accident prone burglar did not bother to stop and search for his dentures.

Shocked and disorientated, he staggered away, leaving behind his haul as well as teeth.

House owner Paul Skipper returned home from a trip to Dundee to find his prized possessions in the garden and a pair of plastic dentures on his porch.

Prosecutor Robert Galley said Richmond was already in custody when police returned the missing teeth four days later.

Richmond of Emley Moor Road, Darlington, pleaded guilty to the burglary in Greenfield Drive, Eaglescliffe which took place on March 27.

He also pleaded guilty to the theft of a Sony PlayStation and compact discs which he left in the garden in his panic.

Peter Makepeace, defending, said that it was a spur of the moment burglary when Richmond spotted uncollected mail piled up inside the glass front door.

Mr Makepeace added: "It would appear that he was in a drunken state. All he can remember is that he fell out of the window - and his teeth fell out."