A MAN was shocked to see a burglar running from his house in the middle of the night, a court heard.

Anthony Haslam had been woken by the alarm sounding and looked out of his window to see the thief running to a nearby car.

Mr Haslam, of St James Street, Farnworth, jumped into his own car and gave chase, but could not find the car. When he came back home, he found his wife's handbag containing £80 was missing.

While examining his belongings, Mr Haslam found a black torch which was not his. DNA evidence linked it to Darren Bond.

Bond, aged 19, of Poplar Avenue, Horwich, appeared at Bolton Crown Court yesterday for sentence for burglary.

Recorder James Duggan sentenced him to six months at a Young Offenders' Institution. Bond's previous record included assault with intent to resist arrest and other minor matters.

The court was told that when arrested, Bond told police that he and a friend had gone looking for things to steal in March last year to feed their drug habits.

He had stayed in the car while his friend had borrowed his torch and had broken into the house and taken the handbag. Drugs had played a large part in his life. Bond admitted he had been using heroin since he was 15, but he was now free of the addiction.