Caught red-handed: Burglar caught sneaking round house on CCTV by motion-detection cameras

A dopey burglar was caught red-handed after he broke into a house – which had been fitted with secret cameras in an elaborate police sting.

Andres Balog forced his way into the property in Wolverhampton, West Midlands, on January 12 this year, before stealing £10 in cash and jewellery.

The 26-year-old's entry triggered special motion-detection cameras that filmed his every move inside the ‘capture house’, which had been kitted out with surveillance equipment.

Footage released by police shows Balog snooping around and rifling through bags in the living room and hallway.

He then appears to look directly at a hidden camera in the kitchen, before he is seen rummaging through cupboards.

The burglar was identified just over a week later when officers recognised him as he was brought into custody for a separate offence.

He was jailed for four-and-a-half months after he admitted burglary at Wolverhampton Crown Court last Wednesday.

After the hearing, Detective Sergeant Nicki Addison, from West Midlands Police, said: ‘Houses, sheds, garages and outbuildings can all be fitted with this portable and easy to install equipment, meaning any property in a burglary hot spot area can be quickly converted to capture thieves.

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‘By informing the public of the success of these capture houses and revealing just a snippet of our capabilities, the message from us is two-fold.

‘Firstly we are sending a clear warning to criminals that if they commit burglary in the city they will be caught.

‘Secondly, the people of Wolverhampton can be reassured that were working on innovative ways to protect them.

‘The capture houses are only one thread of a continuing drive to reduce burglaries and increase the number of offenders brought to justice.

‘We also work to help people avoid becoming victims of burglary in the first place by regularly offering crime prevention advice and encouraging people to register their property through the online property recording website www.immobilise.com.’

West Midlands Police have a series of capture houses spread across the region in a bid to catch thieves red-handed.

The force say the tactic has helped see burglary rates fall by 57 per cent in Wolverhampton over the last decade.