An alcoholic whose blood was found at the scene of a burglary walked free from court yesterday.

It took a jury at Basildon Crown Court less than an hour of deliberation to find Charles Vince not guilty of breaking into a flat in Falcon Way on May 7.

Vince, of Grove Road, Grays, had denied smashing the lounge window at the back of the premises before searching the bedroom.

The 56-year-old, who told the court he drinks up to 17 bottles of whiskey a week, had admitted that on the day in question he was "rotten drunk" and on his way home he had spotted the broken window and out of curiosity he went to have a look inside.

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