A WOMAN was left "shaken" as she awoke to a burglar rifling through a set of drawers in her bedroom in a frightening incident.

The victim had been on a night shift and was in bed at her home in London Road, Westcliff, when she suddenly awoke at around 3.15pm to find 27-year-old Harry Fryett searching the set of drawers in her bedroom.

Fryett left the scene, but thanks to police enquiries with the victim, forensic evidence and CCTV footage, police were able to link him to the crime.

He was arrested on Thursday June 6 and soon charged with burglary, a charge he admitted at Basildon Crown Court last Monday.

Fryett, of Belle Vue Place, Southend, is due to be sentenced at the same court on Monday, April 15.

Detective Sergeant Michelle Rawson, of Essex Police's Southend criminal investigation department, said: “The victim was left understandably frightened and shaken by this incident.

“Residential burglary is a deeply unpleasant offence as it leaves victims feeling unsafe in the very place they should feel safest.

“That is why attending such offences, engaging and supporting victims, and bringing the culprits to justice are absolute priorities for us.”