A HAVE-A-GO hero chased a gang of burglars up the street - forcing them to drop their haul in the road.

Ben Aldridge, 26, forced the crooks to drop a stolen microwave and a vacuum cleaner in their haste to get away.

They had even stolen a packet filled with loo rolls from a house in Rodbridge Drive, Thorpe Bay.

His brother, Ike Aldridge, 23, said: “My brother actually chased four of them up the road. One of them had a microwave under one arm and another had a hoover and the dropped everything into the road.”

An Essex Police spokesman said the crooks may have tried other homes judging by the footprints they left in the snow.

No one was arrested The victim is yet to go through their belongings to see if anything else was stolen. Anyone with information should call Southend police on 101.