A DRUNK man who tried to burgle a property in Carlisle was recorded by a doorbell camera as he “staggered away” empty handed.

At a later court hearing, 46-year-old Mark Leslie Clay pleaded guilty to attempted burglary at Westwood, off Westrigg Road, Carlisle, on March 26, as well as vehicle interference and disqualified and uninsured driving.

Prosecutor Brendan Burke outlined the facts at Carlisle Crown Court.

Police first became aware of the defendant’s latest offending on March 25 when Lancashire police issued an alert about a Ford Focus the defendant had driven north on the M6 towards Cumbria, said the barrister. 

Just after 10pm that day, the car was seen leaving the M6 at Junction 44. At the time, the defendant was supposed to be serving a ban for drink driving.

Outlining the attempted burglary the following day, Mr Burke said it came to light after police were called by the victim, who reported looking at doorbell footage of a man trying to open her front door.

Moments earlier, he had also tried the door handle of her parked car.

“Following that, he was seen walking away further into the housing estate,” said the barrister. Officers found the defendant a short time later in a street just off Wigton Road. He had appeared to “stagger” away from the scene of the failed burglary.

Legally unpresented, the defendant told Judge Michael Fanning that the background to what happened had been a “huge relationship breakup.”

He said: “I went through a bad patch with alcohol. It got the better of me. That is never going to happen again.”

The defendant's criminal history consists of 14 previous offences, including a theft, a battery and drink driving, the court heard. 

Judge Michael Fanning told the defendant, who has no fixed address, he clearly had an issue with alcohol and had been drunk as he tried to burgle the victim's home.

“You said that is the issue; when drunk, you do stupid things,” the judge told Clay. The offending was impulsive, and Clay had driven a significant distance illegally.

At the time, he was halfway through a ban that was imposed for drink driving in 2022. Judge Fanning imposed a 12-week jail term. Given the time the defendant has already spent in custody, he is likely to be freed in round two weeks.