Man offers 'forlorn', cold and hapless burglar a cup of coffee after botched break-in attempt

Sitting in the kitchen with the would-be burglar Mr Holmberg (not pictured) began feeling sorry for the man and offered him a cup of coffee. (GETTY IMAGES)

You hear a strange bump in the middle of the night.

Creeping down the stairs you happen upon an intruder. A fight ensues and you overpower him. What's your next move?

Call the police, of course - but how many other homeowners would do what Tomas Holmberg did next and offer the hapless thief a cup of coffee while they wait?

According to local media reports Mr Holmberg and his wife were woken at around 1am in the morning by the sound of someone in their apartment in Kvarnåsen, Sweden.

Mr Holmberg confronted the thief, who did not resist, before promptly calling the police.

Sitting in the kitchen with the would-be-burglar Mr Holmberg began feeling sorry for the man and offered him a cup of coffee.

"He looked forlorn and quite cold so I thought he could use a gulp of coffee," Holmberg told the local Västerbottens Folkblad newspaper.

The intruder then apologised for attempting to rob Mr Holmberg and sipped his coffee until the police arrived.

Earlier this year police praised a Swedish man after he took on a trio of burglars and managed to lock them in his basement until the authorities arrived.

In other novel-ways-to-deal-with-burglars news a Dublin priest this week told of how he got rid of would-be thieves by “boring” them, with a sermon he had prepared for later that day.