Thief in pants claims he's Superman, then tries to fly

A drunk burglar in the Chinese city of Suqian discovered the hard way that lying to children is a recipe for disaster - especially when you're trying to convince them that you're a superhero. He told reporters his embarrassing tale from his hospital bed.

The Mirror reported that the thief, 25-year-old Tang Lei, had broken into a fifth floor flat in the mistaken belief that it was empty. He was discovered by the owner's ten-year-old daughter and he said that in an effort to calm her down he said he was Superman and that he would soon be flying back to his secret headquarters.

Unfortunately for him, she told him to prove it, so he stripped to his underwear 'to look more like a superhero' and jumped out of the window. According to the Mirror he added: "I know it doesn't make sense but it did to me when I was drunk." He is now in hospital and is expected to be jailed for burglary.

Hapless crooks
It's a fairly impressive level of burglar bungling - putting him contention for the title of daftest burglar of the year. However, he would have to compete with these criminal masterminds:

1. In July we reported the story of the hapless criminal who was jailed for three years for robbing a house in Middlesbrough. He wandered in through an open door to see what he could find lying about - and stumbled across a 42-inch TV. Sadly for him he didn't think things through and took the TV, before escaping on his bike. He was stopped by police cycling along a nearby road trying to balance the TV on his handlebars.

2. In June we reported on the man who robbed a pub. He picked up two tills and a plasma TV, but decided to leave them in a car park and go back for more. While he was gone, two passing thieves made off with his loot.

3. In May we heard the tale of Derek Hardman, a 31-year-old from Dean near Bolton, who broke into a retirement flat and stole £10,000 of jewellery while the occupants were watching TV in the next room. Things started to go badly for him, however, when he felt a bit sleepy and laid down on a sofa in the bedroom for a nap. He was woken by neighbours who had come to help catch him.

4. In April there was the the news that a 30-year-old burglar had broken into a 94-year-old woman's home after he assumed she had gone to bed. He didn't realise that she had merely fallen asleep in a chair downstairs, and when she woke up and challenged him, he fled empty-handed.

5. That same month in Florida, a man failed in his attempt to rob his own house. He didn't want to go to work, and his wife refused to let him phone in sick, so decided to stage a burglary at his home and called police. Unfortunately for him, his plans went awry when neighbours said they had seen him open his own window and front door just before calling the police.

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