Colombia burglar fails to deliver

The day's post brought an unexpected delivery for one Colombian household - a burglar hidden inside a package.

The 24-year-old thief had hidden inside a big cardboard box being delivered to a flat in a wealthy area of Medellin.

But when security guards could not lift the heavy package, they feared it was a bomb and called the police.

As officers were examining the package, a hand holding a knife punched through the cardboard as the panicked burglar shouted he was suffocating.

The package dropped off at the Medellin address had been addressed to the household's maid.

"The guards thought it was a bomb and called the police who in turn called bomb disposal experts," a police spokesman in Medellin told Reuters news agency.

When the box was opened officers found ropes, a gun, a ski mask and one scared and breathless would-be burglar.

It was also a bad day for the maid, who although not charged with being an accomplice, has reportedly been sacked by her employers.

Colombian police are warning householders to be on the alert for any unusually big or unexpected deliveries, although the distinct lack of success in this planned burglary seems certain to deter copycat actions.