A career thief’s latest housebreaking attempt was foiled by a vigilant family pet, Perth Sheriff Court has heard.
Fuelled by alcohol, Scott Townsley crept into a property in Perth’s Tulloch Road and began to search for items to steal.
His entrance went unnoticed by the two occupants, but the couple’s dog was not so easily fooled and began to bark at a bedroom door.
When his owners opened the door, they were stunned to find Townsley standing within and were unable to prevent him from forcing his way past them and out of the property.
Their shock did not last for long, however, and moments later a pair of passing police officers spotted the 37-year-old tearing down the street pursued by the owners and even more closely by their watchful pet.
The officers swiftly intervened and, after the full circumstances were made clear, they arrested the accused, who is no stranger to the courts.
He has an 11-page criminal record with numerous offences of housebreaking, theft, shoplifting, assault and breach of the peace over a 21-year period.
Townsley, of no fixed abode, admitted that on April 22 this year, he was found in the house without lawful authority so that it might be reasonably inferred that he intended to commit theft there.
He was sentenced to 67 days in prison.