A MAN who had attempted to steal £500 worth of property lay undetected for an hour under insulation material on a building site, a court heard.

Darren Moss, aged 34, of The Pungle, Westhoughton, pleaded guilty at Bolton Magistrates Court to attempting to steal the property and failing to surrender to bail.

The court was told that Moss had helped cause about £1,000 worth of damage to a house in the attempted theft.

Builders working on houses in Manchester Road had received reports that somebody was on the site on June 9. When they got there they found two men -- one of whom was Moss -- on the houses.

Moss hid himself under some insulation material and it took them an hour to find him. Initially Moss said he was only trying to keep dry, but when interviewed by police he admitted the offence.

The bench heard that Moss also had outstanding fines of about £800.

It was claimed that Moss had not surrended to bail because he had been away working as a roofer.

The case was adjourned for sentencing until July 29.