A man has been charged today after he is believed to have terrified a couple in Pitsea.

Darren Pugh, 43, unemployed, of no fixed address, has been charged by police for three burglaries in Basildon and Pitsea.

The couple in Malgraves, Pitsea, called police at around 2.20am on Saturday after they were woken up by a man searching their room.

The man, believed to be Pugh, ran out of the house, driving with the resident's car, and a phone.

Police followed the stolen phones GPS tracker before they stopped a man in Brownlow Bend, Basildon, at around 3.15am.

Officers found the stolen car near to the road with a range of items reported missing from burglaries Stokefelde, Pitsea, and Hockley Road, Basildon this morning.

Pugh will appear in Basildon Magistrates Court tomorrow.