A bungling thief left his national identity card behind after being disturbed during a break-in.
Rafal Hil had targeted a house in Dunfermline and woke the owner by smashing a window in the early hours of the morning.
He then went back outside and the owner found him lurking about at the front door where Hil said “hello” and apologised for the damage.
He departed the scene with stolen objects but left behind his jacket and in a pocket police found his Polish national identity card.
Hil, 37, appeared from custody at Dunfermline Sheriff Court, accompanied by a translator.
He admitted that on April 18 he broke in to a house in Bothwell Street and stole an i-Pod and a set of keys.
Hil, previously of Lauder Street, Dunfermline, is already serving a jail term imposed in Dundee last month.
Depute fiscal Sarah Lumsden said that at 12.20am the home owner was woken up by the sound of glass smashing and went to investigate.
He found a glass panel had been broken in his front door and there was a hold-all bag lying on the living room floor.
The man went upstairs to phone the police and when he came back down he heard a male’s voice saying “hello”.
He saw Hil standing at the front door, apologising for the damage and asking if he could come inside.
Not surprisingly access was refused but the home owner filmed the housebreaker on his mobile phone.
Police investigating the crime later found a jacket lying next to the hold-all and inside was Hil’s national identity card.
Defence solicitor Gordon Martin said Hil had worked as a hairdresser in Poland.
“The root of his offending is an alcohol problem,” he went on.
“It appears he had been drinking and may arguably have entered the house by mistake. I think he was looking for a place to sleep.
“He would not appear to be a professional housebreaker or he would not have left his possessions and certainly not something as significant as his national identity card.”
Sheriff Craig McSherry said, “According to the social work report you came to this country in February this year and you have amassed a number of convictions in that short space of time.
“This may be regarded as a bungled attempt at housebreaking but you nevertheless left the house with property belonging to this man.
“This court does not regard housebreaking as anything other than an extremely serious offence.”
He jailed Hil for 15 months to run consecutively to his current jail term.
Hil was jailed for six months in Dundee on May 23. He had attacked a police officer, struck him on the body, attempted to bite him and then spat on him, all while on bail.
The court heard Hil was also previously jailed in Poland for drink-driving.
