A burglar has been sent on a drug rehabilitation programme after being caught red handed as he burgled a couple's home.
Leon Mortimer looked dazed and was seen with drug patches on his chest when two householders found him inside their house in Exeter in the middle of the night.
The unemployed 41-year-old had to be pushed out of the front door by the worried couple who alerted the police to the midnight raid.
Mortimer, of Bridespring Road in Exeter, admitted burglary and was ordered to receive drug rehabilitation as part of a 12-month supervision order and curfewed for six months by Judge Francis Gilbert QC at Exeter Crown Court.
The judge told him: "This was a dwelling house burglary committed shortly after midnight while the occupants were in the property.
"The male occupant was disturbed by the noise and came downstairs to find you in the living room. He ordered you out but you resisted and had to be pushed out with help from the lady of the house.
"I am told your response to supervision has been very good. You have been using heroin for ten years but if you can be stopped from doing so you offending will cease."
David Bowen, prosecuting, said the owners of a house in Regents Square in Exeter were disturbed by noises and found Mortimer inside their home.
He said: "The occupants were disturbed by the defendant and they tried to usher him out and ended up pushing and shoving him.
"He appeared to have medical drug patches on his chest and looked dazed. The police were called and arrested him nearby. He was found to have a black make up case worth about £8 which he had taken from the property.
"He told police he could not remember anything because he was on a cocktail of heroin and valium."
Rupert Taylor, defending, said this is Mortimer's first conviction for a domestic burglary and he is already working with the probation service to address his drug problem.
He asked the judge to give him credit for pleading guilty at the first opportunity and to follow the suggestions of a probation pre-sentence report.
