A householder who found a convicted burglar's prison ID card on her front pathway was told by police to report it as "lost property".

The official card bearing a photo of criminal Terry Ford, 31, was found on the woman's front pathway in Basildon, early on Tuesday morning.

The householder - who does not to be named - said she believed the card was dropped after her Rottweiler dog disturbed someone the previous evening.

However when she reported the incident to police she was told to hand the card back as a 'lost property' item and the case was closed.

Ford was released from HMP Wayland Prison in Norfolk last Friday after serving a sentence for burglary for which he was jailed in February The woman said: "I've spoken to the police and they have told me to take card down to them.

"They are not treating it as a robbery as no-one got in and so they said it is a closed case.

"They want me to hand the card in as a lost property item."

In 2016, Ford was jailed for stealing items including trainers, a sound system and other sentimental items.

He also admitted stealing £80 from a Subway store and breaking into a property in the grounds of the former Basildon Zoo.

He was handed a 43 week jail term plus 12 weeks for breaking a suspended sentence.

Today Ford's mum, Janice Ford, 55, said that she prayed that her son would be back behind bars before too long.

She said: "I'm sad to say I am his mum, he was a lovely little boy, I can't believe he has turned out like this.

"Please, please don't believe anything he tells you to con money.

"I am praying it won't be long before he gets put back inside, for everyone's sake.

"I saw him last week when he got out of prison in the afternoon.

"And whilst I was driving the next day I saw him walking around and he looked awful.

"He had clearly got on it on his first night out of prison.

"He came knocking at my house, asking me to wash his clothes, I could see that he was off his face even though he denies it.

"It is a shame, it is really sad, he was such a lovely young boy.

"I can't have him live with me, but I can't stand to see him looking dirty.

"There is nothing I can do, he has got to do it for himself, but he has been doing this sort of thing for the last ten years.

"He has two children who he doesn't see, which is really sad because that means I don't get to see my grandchildren."

An Essex police spokesman said: "We received a call at 7:30am yesterday, Tuesday, May 1, to reports of lost property outside an address in Cattawade Link, Basildon.

"The caller has been advised to return the item to her local police station."