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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
National
Tom Wilkinson

Sleepy burglar caught snoozing in restaurant next to half-eaten cheesecake

A sleepy thief has been jailed after police found him having a snooze at the crime scene next to a half-eaten cheesecake.

Mark Cooper, 41, was woken by officers, who told him: "You broke into a bar, man."

Police later said he was brought back into the real world "with a bump" when he was arrested.

It happened on Sunday morning at the 808 Bar & Kitchen in Sunderland, Northumbria Police said.

He was jailed for 26 weeks by magistrates.

Officers were alerted to a break-in at the venue in St Thomas Street in the city, where raiders had broken into the empty till and stolen food and alcohol.

Mark Cooper was jailed for 28 weeks by magistrates (PA)

The police arrived within four minutes and found Cooper fast asleep on the floor, along with the half-eaten cheesecake.

Video from an officer's body-worn camera showed him looking bewildered and shouting "whoa, whoa, whoa" to the police, one of whom tells him to "wake up".

When Cooper appeared to ask what was happening, he was told: "You broke into a bar, man."

He was found next to a half-eaten cheesecake at the Sunderland bar (North News & Pictures Ltd northnews.co.uk)
Cooper was arrested at the scene of the crime (North News & Pictures Ltd northnews.co.uk)

He was cuffed and taken into custody and on Monday, Cooper, of Victoria Place, Sunderland, admitted burglary when he appeared before magistrates in South Tyneside, who jailed him for 26 weeks.

After the case, Detective Constable Catherine Gibson said: "This burglary clearly proved to be tiring work for Cooper, and it's safe to say he was brought back to the real world with a bump when awoken by our officers."

Officers are continuing to investigate others thought to have been involved in the break-in.

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