POLICE officers stopped three burglars as they made off with stolen goods - then handed them a carrier bag to take the loot away in, a court heard.

The trio, two of whom were from Newport, were halted by suspicious officers as they made a break with a stereo and an electric guitar they had taken from a flat in Bournemouth, Dorset.

But despite being high on drink and drugs the thieves managed to convince the policemen the goods belonged to them and persuaded them to hand over a plastic bag so they could carry it more easily.

It was only when the owner of the flat saw the burglars walking away with his possessions that he raised the alarm and the gang was arrested. Justin Fitzner, 24, and Joseph Mochan, 31, from Newport, admitted a charge of burglary, while Marion Buttiegieg, 29, from Gloucester, was convicted after a trial at Bournemouth crown court.

Robert Griffiths, prosecuting, said the three had been drunk and high on drugs when they went out to look for a new squat to move into in August last year.

He said: "They stumbled across the flat and decided to break in, taking a stereo and a guitar.

"Police stopped the three to ask them about walking about with the stereo. But they told officers they had been kicked out of their squat and were trying to find somewhere else to live.

"They even asked the police for a bag to carry the stereo. The officers found them a bag but it was not big enough for the goods.

"Then the owner of the flat, who was walking home, became aware of the man carrying a guitar and the woman carrying the stereo. At first he thought that the items looked familiar, and then realised they were actually his, and raised the alarm."

A different police officer then tailed the trio to the basement of a nearby hotel, where they were sleeping, and arrested them.

At Bournemouth crown court, Fitzner and Buttiegieg were sentenced to 15 months' imprisonment, while Mochan was given a two-year community rehabilitation order.

Dorset Police refused to comment after the case.