A burglar broke into a house which was being renovated and stole three zebra ornaments and a dog crate.
But Matthew Griffiths hadn't counted on the new CCTV system recently installed in the property which not only captured him coming out of the address with the unusual booty but also loading them into his car and driving off.
He subsequently told police who came knocking on his door that he had used the stolen dog cage to catch snakes and newts – though officers could not find evidence to back up that claim. The whereabouts of the ornamental zebras remains unknown.
Cardiff Crown Court heard that on May 23 last year a car pulled up outside a house in Michaelston-le-Pit in the Vale of Glamorgan, and two men got out – Griffiths and his accomplice David Cook.
Tom Roberts, prosecuting, said the property was unoccupied at the time and was undergoing renovation works. It had, however, recently been fitted with a new CCTV system.
Griffiths and Cook entered the property by kicking through a rear door and were seen to emerge from the property a short time later carrying their ill-gotten gains.
Mr Roberts said the registration number of the car they used could be seen on the video footage and the vehicle was registered to 34-year-old Griffiths.
The court that when arrested the defendant told officers he had put the dog crate in a nearby field "to catch snakes and newts" but "police found no evidence to support that claim". The stolen items have not been recovered.
Griffiths, of Oban Street, Barry , admitted non-dwelling burglary on the basis that he only took three ornamental zebras and a dog crate. He has 14 previous convictions for 19 offences including for non-dwelling burglaries, drugs matters, and thefts.
Derrick Gooden, for Griffiths, said the defendant's last conviction was in 2012 and he was currently in full-time employment with a mortgage on a property.
Judge Tracey Lloyd-Clarke sentenced the defendant to a 12-month community order with 150 hours of unpaid work and a three-month nightly curfew and ordered him to pay £1,000 towards prosecution costs.
She told him: "Think very carefully, Mr Griffiths, about whether a couple of ornaments and a dog crate were worth a community order, unpaid work, a curfew, and paying £1,000."
The court heard the crown had decided it would not be in the public interest to prosecute Griffiths' accomplice Cook, of Worcester Close in Grangetown, Cardiff, as he had recently been given a custodial sentence for other matters.
