A would-be burglar was caught red handed with a hammer and crowbar after being spotted by police in a nearby office.

Officers saw two men acting suspiciously at the front of a property on Cromer Road in Norwich on November 29 last year.

Norwich Magistrates’ Court was told the pair were seen going into the rear garden and when confronted by police they claimed they had been exploring as they believed it was empty.

But when searched Joshua Roberts, 23, was found to have tools in his possession.

Prosecutor Sally Harris said he told police in an interview that he lived in a supported living hostel nearby and had got bored and wanted to go exploring.

He pleaded guilty to going equipped for burglary.

Ryan Creek, mitigating, said it had been “impulsive”  but he had not intended to break into the main property but had admitted entering a garden shed.

Magistrates sentenced him to an 18 month community order with requirements to complete rehabilitation days and mental health treatment and ordered he pay fines and costs of £154.

The case against the second man was discontinued.