CCTV footage has shown a man breaking into people's cars in Colchester.

The video, from St Leonard's Road in Colchester, shows a man in a baseball cap circling around the road at about 9pm on Tuesday.

A resident who had his car broken into and supplied the Gazette with CCTV footage said: "Then walked into a side bit of the road and likely checked a car down there, then tried mine that I had accidentally left unlocked.

"After walking off from my car he headed off camera up the road."

Nothing of value was in his car and thankfully nothing was taken.

Paperwork from inside the glovebox was left on the seats, and the rear door had not been shut properly.

The incident has not yet been reported to police.

Essex Police advise every incident, no matter how small, to be reported via 101 or 999 in an emergency so they can piece together evidence for potential investigation.

A police spokesman said: "We cannot investigate offences we don’t know about so we need members of the public to report incidents when they take place or information about them.

"Reporting incidents also helps us build up a picture of what is taking place and what the issues are in a certain area and this helps us decide where we allocate our resources."