Burglar caught napping - in the home he was robbing

Updated
Scott Tinsley
Scott Tinsley



Scott Tinsley, a 38-year-old from Cobridge in Staffordshire, has been jailed for 40 months, after admitting burglary. He made it slightly easier for the police to track him down after the crime - by falling asleep on the sofa in the house he was robbing.

The Daily Mirror reported that he had already taken electrical goods from the property, and put them in a garden two doors down. He went back in to get something to eat and drink, but after taking drugs he fell asleep with the gas on. He had broken in during the night, and was found asleep in the front room in the morning.

The Daily Mail said that he was discovered by the mother of the family living in the house. The burglar tried to leave, but was hampered by her husband. The judge took into account the fact that three small children were asleep upstairs, and if the gas had ignited it would have been disastrous.

He sentenced Tinsley to 40 months in prison, adding: "You are a rather pathetic figure." This was his 102nd offence from 41 previous convictions.
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Bungling Burglars
Over the years, there have been plenty of burglars who have made catching them impressively easy because of their poor decision-making. Here are five of the most striking.

1. Tinsley isn't the first to be overwhelmed with tiredness after the stress of breaking in. In May last year a Bolton man collected together £10,000 of jewellery from a retirement flat - while the owners were watching TV in the room next door. However, he decided to sit down on the sofa in the bedroom and promptly dozed off. He was woken by his victims prodding him. They had called their neighbours, who helped restrain the burglar until the police arrived.

2. In September a drunk burglar in the Chinese city of Suqian had broken into a fifth floor flat - thinking it was empty. He was discovered by a 10-year-old, and in an effort to prove to her that he meant no harm, he stripped to his pants, claimed he was Superman, and jumped out of the window to prove it. He was arrested in hospital, where he admitted that in the cold light of day it hadn't been such a bright idea.

3. In July there was the burglar who had taken advantage of the fact that a door had been left open in a student house in Middlesbrough. He saw a 42-inch TV, and decided to make off with it. Unfortunately for him, he failed to take into account that he had arrived at the house by bike, and he was stopped by police while trying to cycle home with the TV balanced on the handlebars.

4. In January 2013 a Norfolk burglar was found guilty of breaking into a flat and stealing a laptop computer. Working out who could possibly be responsible for the theft was made much easier by the fact he was wearing an electronic anti-crime tag at the time.

5. But perhaps the weirdest case was in April last year, when a man decided to rob his own home. He'd wanted to call into work sick, but his wife wouldn't let him, so instead he faked a robbery at his house, and called work to say he couldn't make it in because he was dealing with the aftermath.

He told the police that he had come home to find his house had been ransacked and that he had seen a car drive away. However, his story started to fall apart when neighbours revealed he'd opened the doors and windows himself, and then called police. He was arrested for making a false police report.


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