A man accused of being an axe-wielding burglar has walked free after a judge stepped in and halted his trial halfway through ordering the jury to find him not guilty of the crime due to "insufficient evidence".

A Guildford Crown Court jury heard how an axeman threatened Jack Pearsall, 19, and stole his silver Armani watch after breaking into his family home in Epsom Road, Leatherhead, at about 2.30pm, on Valentine's Day last year.

Soon after the burglary, a sniffer dog led police across the road to a hostel, in Daymerslea Ridge, where they arrested college student Jamie Funnel, 29.

Mr Funnel, who claimed it was a case of mistaken identity, was acquitted yesterday afternoon.

After one and half days of prosecution evidence, Judge Tom Corrie told the jury they must find Mr Funnel not guilty.

Judges have this power if they believe there is no evidence the defendant committed the crime, or where the quality of the evidence is so poor it would not be safe to let a jury decide upon a verdict.

Mr Funnel had told police he was playing Call of Duty: Ghosts on his PlayStation at the time of the burglary, right until police arrived at 3pm.

He said: "As soon as they opened the doors, they were like 'there's been a burglary' and straight away they were like 'you fit the e-fit'.

"I was like: 'What? What? I have been in all day. They were like: 'The dog's come sniffing right up to the door'."

When interviewed by police the next day, he reacted with disbelief when told Mr Pearsall picked him out during an identity parade.

On the day of the burglary, it had been raining and police described a coat in Mr Funnel's room as damp.

But Mr Funnel said he had not been outdoors and the coat had been hanging up by his window for a week.

Police could not find the stolen watch, the burglar's gloves or any forensic evidence in the house or on the axe which was recovered from the family's garden.

Sony confirmed Mr Funnel had logged in to its Playstation online network at 2.01pm and 2.11pm.

Mr Pearsall told the court he was home alone and listening to music in his bedroom when he saw a shadow and the axeman put his head round the door.

He said he followed him to the staircase and asked: "What are you doing?"

He told the court: "He had an axe in his right hand. He raised it above his head as if he was about to hit me."

Mr Pearsall backed away, hid in his parents’ bedroom and called 999. He later realised his Armani watch had been taken from the kitchen.