A parrot and a cat went missing after two drunk teenagers burgled a house and stole a car from outside, a court heard.

Matthew Gilbert and Joseph Smith were originally accused of stealing the pets from the unoccupied house in Bishops Close, Nettlestead.

But they were later removed from the charge after a judge heard that the cat wandered back home and the whereabouts of the parrot was a mystery.

Philip Sinclair, for Gilbert, said when the pair appeared for sentence: “The cat returned later. The parrot didn’t, and nobody knows where it went.”

Another lawyer said: “The matter of the parrot has flown.”

They denied burglary, with Gilbert claiming he had permission to enter the property, but were convicted after a trial.

Smith, of Link House, Fairmeadow, Maidstone, was sentenced to three years youth custody. He admitted driving while disqualified and was banned for three years.

Gilbert, of no fixed address, was sentenced to 15 months youth custody. Smith faced a minimum of three years as a “three strikes” burglar.

Maidstone Crown Court heard the home owner Debbie Stevens had moved out in July last year and was staying at a caravan in Sheerness.

Her daughter returned frequently to check on the house, collect post and tend to the pets.

"The matter of the parrot has flown..." - lawyer

She had been there on August 15 and saw Gilbert, 18, and Smith, 19, at Yalding railway station. They told her they were catching a train to Maidstone.

But when she went back four days later the parrot was missing from its cage, fishing gear had been taken and her mother’s Smart car had gone from outside.

The car, worth £600, had a flat battery and it transpired that the teenagers managed to con neighbours into helping to jump-start it.

Judge Charles Macdonald QC told them: “You drove around for hours in it until you smashed it into a hedge and made off.”

Police said it was found burnt out in Queenborough, Sheerness.

Mr Sinclair said Gilbert and Smith were confident the house would be unoccupied. Gilbert had a drug problem and he was disappointed that a rehabilitation order was not recommended, he added.

Passing sentence, Judge Macdonald said: “Apart from your ages there is no mitigation here.”

Officer in charge of the case DC Gabriel Chandler said: "This was a blatant burglary where Gilbert has used his family connections to try to deceive the neighbours into jump-starting the car.

"In court Gilbert tried to argue that the family had granted him permission to enter the property.

"The jury was satisfied that this was not the case. This was a great effort from Kent Police forensics team and CID."