Bungling burglar left dangling by his shoelaces after getting caught in victim's bay window

Daily Mail (U.K.) ^ | 8-22-08 | Charlotte Gill

[Renfield]

As a burglar, John Pearce thinks nothing of turning his victims' homes upside down. But this time it was the house that turned him the wrong way up.

Attempting a daylight raid, the 32-year-old somehow got his foot caught after smashing his way through the front window of a Victorian terrace home at 6pm.

Unable to free himself, Pearce was left hanging upside down in the window frame for more than an hour as a crowd of 30 neighbours and passers-by gathered to ridicule him in Dartford, Kent....

[Renfield]

Britain's worst burglar: John Pearce had got his foot caught after smashing his way through the glass

'Another neighbour called the police and there ended up being quite a crowd standing laughing at him. It's the main road to the station so it's quite busy.

'One man walked past and said, "Hang in there, mate". It was all quite funny.'

[ClearCase_guy]

Guilty! Guilty! Guilty!

I imagine, this being the UK, he'll get off with a warning.

[HuntsvilleTxVeteran]

Will the home owner be charged for having a booby trap? /s

[CPOSharky]

Arrest the people laughing at him...

Arrest the home owner for maintaining a a dangerous attractive nuisance.

Give the burgler a cash settlement for embarassment.

[MrEdd]

If he had committed a terrible crime like building a tree house they would jail him, but burglery is okay over there.

[Blood of Tyrants]

One word comes to mind.

PINATA!

[palomonte]

hope he (the burglar) isn’t muslim - or all y’all laughing at his sorry butt are in trouble.

[Maceman]

Too bad they couldn’t just spray him with polyurethane and leave him hanging there forever as a warning to other would-be burglars.

Maybe dangle a hanging plant from his foot.

[SledgeCS]

My thoughts exactly. Pinata time or even more evil, I could grab the cat that hates everyone but me and hold her up next to those skinny ribs.

[Lonesome in Massachussets]

Didn't anyone think to ring up the home owner and say, “Chester, old boy, I hate to bother you with this, but is seems that there's a bugler hanging upside down from your bay window.”

It's like chilling old claret, or beating someone else's wife, it's just not done in the best circles. Proper etiquette calls for impaling them on a spiked wrought iron fence, old man. Who knows where this kind of thing will lead?

[Slings and Arrows]

Two words: Reactive. Target.

[Constitutionalist Conservative]

Arrest the people laughing at him... Arrest the home owner for maintaining a a dangerous attractive nuisance. Give the burgler a cash settlement for embarassment.

I was thinking along the same lines. Somehow, either the owner or the neighbors have violated this poor soul's rights.

[MaryFromMichigan]

Theme song: “gypsies, transom thieves”.

[metmom]

I imagine, this being the UK, he'll get off with a warning.

Nah. Since this is the UK they'll probably charge and convict the hecklers and throw them in jail, and then give him a nice government pension for his pain and suffering.

I'd have joined the crowd anyways.

[Slings and Arrows]

[ApplegateRanch]

Unable to free himself, Pearce was left hanging upside down in the window frame for more than an hour as a crowd of 30 neighbours and passers-by gathered to ridicule him

So will he sue & the police prosecute the crowd for 'failing to render assistance' and 'inflicting emotional distress'?

[ApplegateRanch]

I'd have joined the crowd anyways.

The more the merrier...and the more to sell my rotten tomatoes to.

[metmom]

Looks like he’s got good quality shoelaces there. I wonder what brand they were.