Burglar found hiding in cupboard of Hartlepool home is jailed at Teesside Crown Court

Sean Marshall, who was intoxicated on tablets, was found hiding in a cupboard at a house in Clavering, Hartlepool, at around 3.20am.

Teesside Crown Court heard he was wearing tights over his head.

He was discovered when a male returned home from a night out and his mother went downstairs to greet him.

They noticed the back door was open.

Jenny Haigh, prosecuting, said: “The son attempted to detain the defendant. There was a struggle and his mother also assisted and she pulled the tights from the defendant’s head and also his hat.”

Marshall, 44, who has a bad record for house burglary, escaped but dropped his mobile phone.

Earlier that night, on September 10 last year, he had tried to get into several other people’s homes and vehicles nearby but was unsuccessful.

He pleaded guilty to the burglary, four counts of attempted burglary and vehicle interference and also asked for several similar offences to be taken into consideration.

Paul Cleasby, mitigating, said the crimes were all linked to a long-standing drug problem.

He added: “The confrontation was a result of him trying to get away rather than inflicting harm.”

Judge Christopher Smith said prison was unavoidable and jailed Marshall, of Arch Court, Hartlepool, for 50 months.

"That’s when the public are safest from you prowling around at night which is what happened here,” said Judge Smith.

He added: “It will have been very frightening for the householder to find you hiding in their house.”