Telegraph UK--The female cabbie recognised Robert Brooks, 28, and Neil Goode, 27, and called police after dropping them home.

The pair were jailed for a total of four-and-a-half years at Leicester Crown Court after admitting burglary.

The 36-year-old woman taxi driver, who did not want to be named, said: "I was so nervous.

"I said to them 'You've not just burgled that house, have you?' and they started laughing.

"I called the police as soon as I dropped them off."

Brooks and Goode carried out a string of burglaries in Leicester to fund their spiralling drug addiction - one of which was on the home of the taxi driver in October 2007.

On December 12, 2008, the pair called a taxi firm to pick them up from a house in Narborough Road South, Leicester.

The driver, a mother from Leicester, saw the pair coming towards the cab with bags packed with computers, mobile phones and jewellery worth more than £1,000

They asked her to put the bags - which also contained children's Christmas gifts - into the boot of the car before telling her to drive them home.

When Brooks and Goode, both Braunstone, Leicester, got into the back of the cab they started emptying out jewellery and money from a pair of ladies' handbags and joked about their haul.

Police arrived at Brooks' home minutes after he and Goode had been dropped off.

James Varley, defending Goode, told the court: "He committed one of the most bungled attempts at a burglary that has ever graced this court."

The court heard that both stole to feed their drug habits and had only been released from prison the month before the raid on the home.

Both pleaded guilty to burglary.

Goode was sentenced to 34 months' imprisonment while Brooks was given 20 months.

The court heard Goode was responsible for 15 break-ins between August and December last year, in which he stole nearly £14,000 worth of property.

Brooks had been banned from touching cars for two years after a string of 150 crimes.

Inspector Jon Brown, of Blaby police, said: "Booking a taxi to get away from the scene of a crime was quite a stupid thing to do - it's certainly not the standard modus operandi.

"House burglaries are a very personal crime and the taxi driver showed great community spirit to contact us as she did, allowing us to bring these prolific thieves to justice."