A MAN allegedly smashed his way into a block of flats in Poole's Old Town on Christmas Eve.

Dorset Police said the man appeared to be the worse for wear, and has released CCTV images in a bid to identify a suspect.

Camera footage shows a man walking down Castle Street from Strand Street at 7:43pm on Sunday, December 24.

The force said the man kicked the glass pane of a communal door at the main entrance to the Quay Point apartment block.

Once inside the lobby, he threw the glass over his head before apparently going into one of the flats.

The suspect is described as a tall white man, with balding or short-shaved hair. He was wearing a khaki coloured leather jacket, blue jeans and black boots.

PC James Hazell said: "We have conducted thorough house-to-house enquiries in the Quay Point block and the surrounding area, but so far no one has admitted to recognising the suspect or being aware of this crime.

"We now have very good quality CCTV images of the suspect, which I am confident will lead to him being recognised by someone. He could well be a resident of the block, been visiting someone there or perhaps entered the wrong address.

"The suspect appears very drunk. Now that he's hopefully sobered up after the Christmas period, I'm also appealing to him directly to get in contact so we can resolve this as quickly as possible."

Call Dorset Police on 101 quoting incident 55170198791.