A bungling burglar who broke into a family home and stole £24,000-worth of sentimental jewellery more than a month ago left behind a note with his details on – but police still have not been able to catch him.

An intruder broke into the Little Kimble home on August 31 and got away with thousands of pounds-worth of jewellery, but he left behind a piece of paper with his details on it.

Although the homeowner, who would now like to remain anonymous, handed over the note – which was a Universal Credit log-in, password and email address – as soon as he found it at his home in Ellesborough Road, Thames Valley Police have still not brought the offender to justice.

This is despite the force declaring burglaries in homes are a “top priority” for officers. Residential burglaries within the Thames Valley have increased by three per cent overall, between September 1, 2017 and August 31, 2018, when compared to the same period in the previous year.

The homeowner says he has “lost the will to live” with police and their investigation – and criticised the “bureaucracy” that has meant the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) have yet to hand over the alleged burglar’s details to officers.

He said: “This guy’s details were found on my property and police are telling me they cannot find out his details or who he is.

“I just can’t get my head around it. He smashed a window, came in and swiped my wife’s jewellery. I have showed police this A4 piece of paper with his details on that he obviously left behind. It looks like it must have been folded up in his back pocket or something.

“I phoned a private investigator agency and said if I gave you an email address and a Universal Credit log-in, would you be able to find this person? And of course they said they could, but I would have to pay thousands for that.”

The frustrated resident said he wants to be able to “name and shame” the thief who broke into his home – but fears police will never catch the culprit.

He added: “It just highlights the inadequacy of the police if they really can’t get the information from the DWP. It’s all just bureaucracy – police surely must have some power with these government agencies?

“I have had to call police so many times to try and get an update on the investigation and to ask if they have arrested him yet. The investigating officer says she has had nothing back from the DWP at all. I just don’t know what to do.

“It would cost £24,000 to replace my wife’s stolen jewellery – but there is stuff in there that has sentimental value, stuff that belonged to her mum.”

Thames Valley Police responded only to confirm they were investigating the incident.