EXCLUSIVE By Paola Alvino A PENSIONER has asked the courts to be lenient with a burglar he found sleeping in his spare bedroom.

Harry Rigby, 84, told police he had forgiven 24-year-old Lee David Hulmes for breaking into his home and wanted the judge to throw out the "thieving" charge.

Mr Rigby's surprise gesture came after he learned Hulmes was an ex-soldier traumatised by his horrific experiences in Bosnia and Croatia.

"I served abroad myself in the war, I know how bad it is to watch your friends' heads being blown off and see their arms fall off when you try to pick them up.

"I can really sympathise with the lad and what he must have been going through."

Hulmes, of Salford, had drunk 20 pints of lager before breaking into Mr Rigby's home, which he thought was the home of a friend.

He decided to steal things when he realized he was in the wrong place.

As Hulmes staggered in a drunken stupor from room to room, he came across the old man sleeping and overcome with remorse, decided to put the things back.

But then he became tired and went to sleep only to be found the following morning by a startled Mr Rigby.

"I had gone to the toilet, and when I came out noticed the bedroom door was ajar, when I usually keep it shut. There was also blood on the walls and door frame," Mr Rigby explained.

"Then I looked in the bedroom and saw a big lump under the duvet. I pulled it off and there he was. He was like a zombie."

The plucky pensioner told him not to move and went to get dressed, but when he returned Hulmes was attempting to leave by the front door.

Mr Rigby ran downstairs, grabbed him by the collar and shouted to neighbours for help.

When the police arrived, Mr Rigby searched Hulme's pockets and found £3.17p loose change which he had kept in a bowl. He also discovered Hulme was holding his cigarettes and lighter.

He later discovered Hulmes had smashed the window of the back door and had cut himself while reaching in to unlock it.

"The police told me the lad felt dreadful about what he had done, and had wanted me to know he was very very sorry. Apparently he had never been in trouble before. He must have been a good lad at heart," Mr Rigby said.

"I told the police to tell him I accepted his apology. I am not a person to put someone down who has nothing against him, a good fella really. I think it must have been a one-off.

"I don't want them to do anything about the thieving because he didn't know what he was doing.

"Another thing in his favour is that he never tried to get away when I was holding him. A big lad like him could easily have thrown me off and run away, but he never made a move."

Hulmes, aged 24, of Monsall Avenue, Salford, appeared for sentence for burglary at Bolton Crown Court.

The court heard how Hulmes had been acting bizarrely since returning from Bosnia and Croatia where he served with the Grenadier Guards and the Royal Fusiliers.

The court ordered a psychiatrist's report to be prepared for his next appearance on August 18.