Trouser removal foils burglary

Nicholas Jones was sentenced at Caernarfon Crown Court

A man struggled with a burglar then ordered him to lie on the ground and remove his jeans and shoes to stop him running away, a court has heard.

Derrick Winterbottom, of Llanynghenedl, near Holyhead in Anglesey, then bound Nicholas Jones' hands with tape while he knelt, trouserless, in front of his house.

The police later arrived to arrest the 31-year-old who admitted two burglaries at Caernarfon Crown Court.

Mr Winterbottom was commended by the judge and is to receive £200 reward.

"I had got home and noticed the conservatory window was open," explains the 51-year-old, who is married with a family.

I thought the best bet would be to take his trousers off to stop him running away.

Derrick Winterbottom

"I though it was a bit funny and when I went into the house the burglar barged into me."

Mr Winterbottom then grabbed Jones, of Bryn Du, Anglesey, to try to stop him getting away and the tussle spilt into the car park outside.

While the scuffle continued, Mr Winterbottom thought up an ingenious way of stopping Jones from fleeing.

"I thought the best bet would be to take his trousers off to stop him running away," he said.

"I was on top of him, and took his pants and shoes off because I knew he couldn't run very far without them."

Upper hand

Mr Winterbottom then got him to the entrance to his garage where he tied his hands with some tape.

"I made him walk with me and tied his hands behind his back while he was kneeling in the garage entrance.

"I managed to phone the police then had to wait for them to arrive.

"There were a few cries about letting him go but then he became quite quiet."

Mr Winterbottom says the whole tussle felt like an eternity but probably only lasted 20 minutes.

Despite being 20 years older then the burglar, Mr Winterbottom says he managed to get him to co-operate by threatening him.

"I had the upper hand and he had no choice but to behave because he didn't know whether I was telling the truth or not."

Reward

Unemployed Jones was told by Judge John Rogers QC at Caernarfon Crown Court that the offences merited a 15 months jail term.

But he bailed him to live at a probation hostel to be assessed for a drug treatment and testing order.

Mr Winterbottom was surprised to hear he had been commended for a reward by the judge

"I didn't know anything about it until the police called me to say the judge had thanked me.

"But I had just done the first thing that came to my mind."