A burglar who fell into a stupor after helping himself to several bottles of alcohol at the Vereeniging home he broke into was arrested at the crime scene by police.

Afrikaans daily Beeld reported today that thieves had broken into the home of Dennis Stastney last week, after the family left for work.

“It looks as though they’d had a massive party here all day… if one looks at the amount of alcohol consumed, there was more than one burglar,” Stastney said.

The burglars ransacked the house and stole electronic items and jewellery, urinated on the beds and couches, and had a meal.

“They emptied five bottles of booze, including a bottle of brandy, a bottle of whisky, rum, wine and vodka.”

Stastney said he, his wife and two children arrived home around 6pm to find a man sleeping on their couch.

They notified the Vereeniging community policing forum, and police duly arrived at the scene, woke the intruder up and helped him into a police van.

“He was covered in alcohol and glue – he’d sniffed a bottle of glue I’d been using to put in wooden floors,” Stastney said.

He described the incident as “frightening”, as the intruders had obviously been familiar with the family’s routine. SAPA