Burglar caught after drinking victim's wine and falling asleep

A burglar was caught after drinking a bottle of his victim's wine and falling asleep on the sofa instead of making his getaway, a court has heard.

Telegraph UK 

9:00AM BST 06 Oct 2009

Michael Dwyer, 44, broke in through a window of a basement flat in Cambridge before stuffing several pillow cases with DVDs, CDs and electrical items.

Unemployed Dwyer, who had already been drinking, then spotted a bottle of red wine and settled down on the sofa to drink it.

But he fell asleep until he was discovered with the empty bottle by his feet the next day by the homeowner returning from work.

The victim was still unable to wake up Dwyer and called police, who arrested him at the scene.

Dwyer admitted burglary following the raid on September 22 at Cambridge Magistrates' Court on Monday.

Paul Brown, prosecuting, said Dwyer claimed he had broken into the house to use the lavatory.

He said: "Mr Dwyer was found sleeping on the sofa with a bottle of wine next to his feet.

"The victim informed police who then arrested Dwyer. He claimed that he didn't remember putting the items in the pillowcase and said he had a serious alcohol problem."

Monica Lentin, defending, said Dwyer had shown genuine remorse for his crime.

She said: "He is really trying to get help for his alcohol problems. This is the first time he has actually committed a burglary and it is out of character."

Magistrates adjourned sentencing until October 27 and requested a pre-sentence report be prepared by the probation service looking into Mr Dwyer's alcohol addiction.