Burglar went to bed and fell asleep during raid on house in Leeds

Officers found Frankie Flannigan fast asleep after they were called to the house by the homeowner who was shocked to find him in the property when she returned home.

Flannigan, 22, was jailed for 18 months yesterday after pleading guilty to burgling the house on Chandos Avenue, Gledhow, on September 22 last year.

Leeds Crown Court heard Flannigan’s victim lives next door to his mother.

On the day of the offence Flannigan turned up drunk at his mother’s house and she told him to go away.

Flannigan then went to his grandmother’s house but she also told him to leave because of his drunken state.

Carmel Pearson, prosecuting, said Flannigan then smashed a window before searching the property and stealing electrical items including a TV, laptop and an Xbox.

Flannigan took the items from the property and left them next to a bin outside his mother’s home before going back into the house.

Miss Pearson said the victim returned home around 5.45pm to find glass all over the house and property missing.

She contacted police and they arrived to find Flannigan asleep in an upstairs bedroom.

He was arrested and pleaded guilty to the offence at the earliest opportunity.

The court heard Flannigan has a number of previous conviction for minor dishonesty offences but had never committed burglary before the incident.

Asumpta O’Rourke, mitigating, said Flannigan had not deliberately targeted the property but broke in after he saw no one was at home.

Miss O’Rourke said her client’s offending was linked to his abuse of alcohol. The lawyer said Flannigan had been drinking on a daily basis since he was 15, often starting at 11am each day.

Judge Rodney Jameson, QC, said: “This was a repeated and serious intrusion into the property.

“Leeds has long been saddled with some of the country’s worst burglary figures and it follows that sentences for domestic burglaries need to be at the higher end of the guidelines.

The judge added: “An immediate custodial sentence is not only merited - it is the best thing for you.”