A chancer who broke into a house a few doors down the street was caught red-handed – then offered to lend his neighbour money.

Drunk Carl Bailey, of Beech Avenue in Golcar, was caught burgling his neighbour’s house on September 21 last year.

The 37-year-old admitted burglary when he appeared at Leeds Crown Court on Monday.

Prosecutor Nicoletta Alistari said: “The defendant and the complainant knew each other as the defendant lived a few doors away.

“Around 6pm, the defendant was seen looking through the window of the property and he managed to climb inside.

“The complainant was watching TV when he heard some noise from the bedroom. He saw the defendant standing near the window of the bedroom and the complainant challenged him and asked him what he was doing.

“The defendant said that the back door had been open and that he had wandered in. That was not true. He was drinking and not making sense.

“He asked the complainant if he wanted to borrow some money from him and pulled out a wallet from his pocket with money in it. The complainant refused, said he did not want any money and the defendant told him to f*** off.”

When Bailey was arrested, he told police that he wandered into the house because he was drunk and he had no reason to burgle the house because he had money of his own.

Judge Sally Cahill QC sentenced Bailey, who has previous convictions for 62 offences including burglaries and theft, to two years and four months’ imprisonment.