A BURGLAR caught leaving a house by the owner told him, “I’m not going back to jail for you”.

Bolton Crown Court heard how, at 6am on January 18, Alan Cartwright and his wife were woken by their dogs barking at their Bolton home and he looked out of the window to see a man walking towards the end of his driveway.

Eleanor Myers, prosecuting, told how Mr Cartwright ran after him, shouting for him to stop.

Danny Boardman, who was covered in blood, turned around, putting his hands in his pockets.

“Mr Cartwright was concerned, given the placement of the man’s hands, that he had a knife and so returned to his address,” said Miss Myers.

After calming down, Mr Cartwright and his wife decided to drive around the area to see if they could identify the intruder and when they found him near some other homes, Mr Cartwright got out of his car and challenged him.

“The male then ran away, jumping over a fence,” said Miss Myers.

At 6.50am Boardman was spotted on the driveway of another house and, when spoken to, claimed he was going to “see my kids”.

Boardman, who had an injury to his forehead, was taken to hospital before he was transferred to a police station.

The court heard that Boardman had no recollection of being arrested and claimed he had taken 60 diazepam tablets three days earlier.

Boardman, of Icconhurst Close, Baxenden, Accrington, pleaded guilty to burglary although it is not known how he got into the Cartwright’s property.

He has six previous convictions, including for affray and theft, but has never received a custodial sentence before.

The Honorary Recorder of Bolton, Judge Martin Walsh, sentenced Boardman to a community sentence for three years which includes treatment and 40 days of rehabilitation activities.

“The purpose of the order is to address your fundamental problems, drug issue and psychiatric issues,” the judge told him.