POLICE have been forced to return 70 lawnmowers to a convicted burglar after they could not prove they were stolen.

Magistrates fined Irish expat Tom Edwards, 51, of Robin Way, Chelmsford, £110 after he was caught drunkenly stumbling down the street with his neighbour's lawnmower in a wheelbarrow on June 21.

At 3am that night, police raided the unemployed grandfather's shed before telling the local media that 70 lawnmowers and been recovered and appealling to the general public who may have had gardening equipment stolen to come forward.

But they were all returned to Edwards after he revealed that he actually buys broken lawnmowers online for as little as 50 pence, before fixing them and selling them on. "I am gutted that I did it and I am sorry for any inconvenience I caused," said Edwards, a father-of-five, who said his daughters were in tears when police carried out the raid. "The 70 lawnmowers are not stolen and it feels like humiliation".

Edwards says he is sorry for breaking through the garden gate in Widford Road before raiding the resident's garage and unlocked Volvo parked outside.

During the incident, Scott Swanick, 37, was at home across the road putting his son to bed when he heard his neighbour's car door slam."He was hammered and his trousers were falling down to his ankles," he said."and was wheeling my neighbour's garden tools and lawnmower in a wheelbarrow, he was all over the place"

"This guy wasn't being discreet, it was quite comical. I'm surprised they have returned all his lawnmowers, although it would take up so many resources for the police to try and identify everyone who has had one stolen."

Edwards pleaded guilty at Chelmsford Magistrates' Court last Wednesday to theft and burglary.

He was fined £110, given a 12-month community order and an electronically tagged curfew between 9pm and 7am.

A police spokesman said: "While a number of items were seized following Mr Edwards' arrest, police were unable to establish whether these were stolen and as such these were returned."