A second man has been jailed for stealing treasured medals belonging to a late war veteran.

Kieran Vanner, of Palmerston Road, Chatham, stole the military decorations during a burglary of a house in Penenden Heath, Maidstone.

The homeowners, Anne and Leonard Hazeldine, were left devastated whey returned to the property on Monday, January 26 and discovered every room had been ransacked.

Along with the medals, a large stash of jewellery, a laptop computer, a portable media player, bank cards and numerous other possessions worth a total of about £9,000, were also stolen.

The badges of honour had been awarded to Mrs Hazeldine's father, James Oliver, for his service with the Royal Horse Artillery during the Second World War.

Vanner was arrested several days after the burglary when some of the items were found in a bag dumped in an alleyway near his home.

Forensic examinations linked the him to the crime.

The 20-year-old, who pleaded guilty, appeared at Maidstone Crown Court yesterday and was sentenced to serve 17 months in a young offender institution.

Bradley Richmond, of no fixed address, was jailed for the offence, last month. He was sentenced to 18 months in prison.

Richmond, also 20, admitted the crime and also asked for three other burglaries to be taken into consideration, including break-ins at properties in Penenden Heath Road and Hatherall Road, both in Maidstone, and Birling Road, Snodland.

Mrs Hazeldine, a mother-of-two, was overcome with emotion when she was reunited with the treasured heirloom around a month after incident.

At the time, she said: "I’m so happy to have my father’s medals back. They are priceless.”

Investigating officer DC Raj Dusanjh said: "Burglary is a terrible crime that leaves a long-lasting impact on victims, but Vanner spared no thought for those whose home he ransacked for his own personal benefit.

"Fortunately the war medals and other possessions he stole were returned to their rightful owners, and I hope the sentencing imposed on Vanner is of some additional comfort to them."