Cat burglar died in 200ft fall

A cat burglar plunged 19 floors to his death from a tower block still clutching his sack of booty, an inquest was told yesterday.

Southwark Coroner's Court in south London was told that Gary Rawlings died from massive head injuries after clambering 200 feet up in high winds on the balcony of a tower block in south London.

Scattered around his body were the remains of a CD player, discs and videotapes, stolen from a couple's flat.

Recording a verdict of misadventure, Sir Montague Levine, the coroner, said: 'It must have been a perilous climb, even without high winds.'