A frantic burglar repeatedly kicked and pulled at a locked door as he tried to get away before finally discovering a conveniently placed door release button.
Jack Higgins was caught on crystal-clear CCTV footage as he attempted to leave a student accommodation block in Beeston.
Higgins, aged 34, had just stolen food and drink items after forcing his way into the block in the early hours of 13 December last year.
After finally getting free, he returned to the reception area and attempted to steal a television from the wall.
Unfortunately for him, his efforts to disguise his identity with a scarf were too little, too late, as his face had already been captured by multiple cameras.
When he was arrested three days later, Higgins also spat in the face of a police officer and claimed to have an infectious disease.
During an earlier break-in at the same location on 5 December, Higgins and another man were caught on camera carrying a large arcade machine out of the building.
He was also found to have committed three other burglaries at student accommodation blocks, two of them at the same address.
He later pleaded guilty to five counts of burglary, assaulting an emergency worker, criminal damage, and a public order offence.
Appearing at Nottingham Crown Court on Tuesday 12 May, Higgins, of no fixed address, was jailed for three years.
His accomplice in stealing the arcade machine, 27-year-old Iona Christos, was jailed for four years in January.
Detective Constable Alexander Tenant, of Nottinghamshire Police, said:
“Higgins was hardly subtle in his approach and was equally heavy-handed as he repeatedly tried to force his way out through the same door he had entered.
“In the process, he repeatedly exposed his face to a conveniently placed security camera and was left with little choice but to plead guilty.”
