A bungling burglar was arrested after caught napping in a van at the tyre depot he’d raided.

Mechanics turning up for work at Advance Tyres, in Pitsea High Road, noticed a van door was ajar.

When when the tyre fitter went to look inside, he spotted a pair of legs across the seats.

The tyre fitter, who did not want to be named, said: “I opened up as normal at about 8.50am.

“I walked in from the alleyway and I saw stuff all over the gate and that loads of things had been moved around.

“Then I noticed the van door was open. I walked over and all I could see were these two feet upside down.

“As I looked in further, I saw the bloke in the front seat, slumped across all three seats.

He was completely passed out.

“It definitely spooked me, because I didn’t know if he was alive or dead.

“I saw he had two needles on him as well, one that had been used and one that hadn’t.

“I didn’t want to go near him after that, so I phoned the police and they were here within five minutes. They shook him awake and arrested him.”

After reviewing CCTV footage, the staff saw a man had broken into the yard at about 5am and piled two big boxes of tools and two mountain bikes, apparently ready to carry off.

The footage also showed him trying to ride a bike, but crashing into one of the vans.

Sgt Angie Torrance, based at Basildon police station, said: “A suspect gained entry to the Advance Tyres building, in High Road, Pitsea at about 5am on Sunday.

“The suspect then fell asleep inside the vehicle and was found asleep when the police arrived.

“The staff rang us and we turned up and arrested a 33-yearold man on suspicion of burglary and possession of cannabis.

“He was released on police bail, pending further enquiries until October 23.”