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Hotel couple woken by raider
A HORRIFIED granddad staying in a hotel woke up to find a burglar in his room as his wife and grandson slept by his side.
Shocked Bernard Atkinson confronted intruder Paul Burnett inside his room at Hartlepool's Grand Hotel in the early hours of the morning.
Mr Atkinson discovered Burnett, 27, standing near his three-month old grandson who was asleep in his cot before giving chase.
After briefly losing sight of Burnett, Mr Atkinson found him hiding in a cupboard and kept him trapped inside until staff and police arrived.
Teesside Crown Court heard Burnett had been out drinking in the town centre before going into the hotel looking for something to steal.
It is believed he found the key left in the door to Mr Atkinson's second floor room.
He and his wife had gone to bed at 11pm before Mr Atkinson was woken up by noises at around 1.45am.
Yvonne Taylor, prosecuting, said: "He got out of bed and walked to the end, looked towards where his grandson was sleeping and saw a male, the defendant."
Burnett ran out of the room chased by Mr Atkinson, but there was no sign of him in the hall.
Mr Atkinson figured he did not have time to get to the lift or stairs and turned his attention to a cupboard.
Miss Taylor added: "He opened the door and inside was the defendant. He called to his wife to call staff and kept the door closed so the defendant couldn't escape."
Burnett claimed was looking for a party, but a judge slammed the explanation as "a cock and bull story".
Tamara Pawson, mitigating, said he now accepted his guilt, adding: "It was a spontaneous decision when he saw the key left in the door.
"He was heavily under the influence of drink on that night."
Miss Pawson said Burnett, of Greenock Road, Hartlepool, had sought help for his drink problems.
He was given a nine month jail sentence suspended for two years after admitting burglary on November 7 last year.
Judge Les Spittle said: "You told a cock and bull story to police. One can sympathise entirely with what must have gone through the mind of person inside when they realised you were within the entrance close to where the child's cot was."
Burnett was also told to pay 620 legal costs.
Craig Morris, assistant general manager at the Grand Hotel, in Swainson Street, Hartlepool, said: "Being a town centre hotel we are maybe a bit more vulnerable, but we do have strict security checks in place.
"We constantly have managers walking around the building checking doors are closed at all times and advising guests to hand all keys in to reception."
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Weather for Hartlepool
Sunday 27 May 2012
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Temperature: 9 C to 21 C
Wind Speed: 10 mph
Wind direction: North east
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Temperature: 9 C to 22 C
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