BURGLARS caught attempting to loot a Chinese eatery during an early morning raid have been locked up.

Steven Fewins, 35, and Christopher Morris, 38, were spotted inside Headington’s Dragon Express after forcing their way into the London Road restaurant.

Officers were alerted to the break-in, rushing to the restaurant with a police dog on June 9, prosecutor Jane Davies told Oxford Crown Court.

They peeked through a gap in the door, spotting shadows lurking inside, before making their way in through an alleyway.

Police arrested the criminals, uncovering a ruck sack containing a crowbar, a box of latex gloves, a chisel, a screwdriver and wet wipes, the court heard on Tuesday.

James Reilly, defending Morris, reminded the court his client confessed to his offending at the ‘earliest opportunity’.

The court also heard Fewins had been suffering from ‘trauma’ since losing his mother and two close friends earlier this year.

Sentencing, Judge Zoe Smith said: “A matter of concern is that you had with you a vehicle, a way no doubt to take away items that you were hoping to steal, which was bearing false plates, and that is a serious matter.”

Fewins was handed a six-month jail term, while Morris, also known as Christopher Reece, was jailed for 10 months.

Both, of no fixed abode, admitted burglary and were ordered to pay a victim surcharge.

Judge Smith ordered forfeiture and destruction of items seized.