A blundering crook caught stealing from a Dundee house fell 40 feet down an embankment and broke his hip.
Trains were brought to a standstill after drunken Andrew Mitchell jumped over a fence and tumbled towards the railway line separating Perth Road and Riverside Drive.
The occupiers of the house Mitchell broke into, close to Harris Academy, urged him not to do it but he is now awaiting a hip replacement and expected to experience lifelong pain.
Mitchell, a regular offender, is back in prison after he admitted forcing his way into the house on Perth Road on May 13 last year.
Solicitor Zoe Lyburn said: “It’s almost descended into a farcical situation.”
Caught red-handed
Dundee Sheriff Court heard one of the occupiers of the six-bedroom house heard loud noises coming from the ground floor and a man “speaking incoherently”.
He saw Mitchell in the hallway next to the garden room with bottles of wine from a drinks cabinet in his jacket pockets.
Fiscal depute Joanne Ritchie said: “A 77-inch LG television was ripped from the wall of the garden room and was rested on one of the sofas.
“An eight-litre Amstel keg was on the decking.
“The man’s wife joined him and saw the accused make incoherent statements and walk out of the French doors.”
Mitchell ran across the garden to the fence, which led to the 40-foot drop.
The thief was still in possession of two Birra Moretti lagers and the couple tried to reason with him.
Ms Ritchie said: “The accused was unsteady on his feet and under the influence.
“The couple’s adult son joined them at this point and the accused climbed over the fence but thought better of it.
“He handed (the adult son) a Hive camera and one of the bottles of beer and asked if he could keep the other bottle.”
Mitchell then went down the embankment and was nowhere to be seen when police arrived.
Months in hospital
Concerns were raised for his welfare and he was seen lying near the train tracks but officers struggled to get any verbal response until they eventually reached him and he said he was injured and could not move.
Network Rail brought a halt to services so paramedics and the fire service could reach Mitchell.
He spent months in hospital and underwent surgery for a dislocated hip and a broken bone in his back.
Mitchell, 32, who was previously jailed for a serious domestic attack in 2021, pled guilty via video link from HMP Perth.
He also admitted failing to appear in court in January after previous attempts were made for him to plead guilty at an earlier stage.
‘Almost comical’ – sheriff
Ms Lyburn said: “He has no recollection of why he went there.
“He has never broken into a house before.
“He was drinking most days and thinks his drink may have been spiked but accepts he did behave in that manner.
“He was caught red-handed in broad daylight.”
The lawyer continued: “Karma has intervened to a certain extent in that he has been severely injured.
“He is awaiting a hip replacement in custody. I think that’s something that’s going to trouble him for the rest of his life.
“At 32, that’s an unfortunate and tragic consequence.
“He is asking me to apologise to the court and to the householders.”
Sheriff Mark Thorley said: “On one view, this was almost comical.
“However, this is a matter of housebreaking and there can’t be any other penalty but a custodial sentence.”
Mitchell was jailed for 14 months.
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