A ROUGH sleeper who broke into a Bournemouth flat before downing rum was discovered asleep on a sofa by the homeowner.

Dawid Grzelewski, 32, scaled scaffolding and climbed onto a three-storey ledge to break into the flat in Old Christchurch Road on April 7 this year.

Once inside, he drank from a bottle of rum found in the kitchen before curling up on a sofa and falling asleep.

Owner Paul Hatton was forced to evict the defendant when he arrived at the flat in the morning.

Simon Edwards, prosecuting the case at Bournemouth Crown Court, said Mr Hatton, store director of a branch of Specsavers based in the same building as the flat, had taken photographs of Grzelewski on his mobile phone.

"Mr Hatton received an alarm telling him the burglar alarm in the flat had been activated," Mr Edwards said.

"At 8.30am, Mr Hatton went to the flat and found the defendant asleep on the sofa in the lounge.

"He took two photographs of the defendant on his mobile phone.

"Next to [the defendant] was a hammer and a large screwdriver.

"He had drunk a quantity of rum belonging to Mr Hatton."

The victim "escorted" Grzelewski from the flat after waking him up.

"Police attended and a blood-stained tissue was found on a worktop," Mr Edwards said.

"The defendant had injured himself. [The blood] matched the profile of this defendant."

Grzelewski, who had become homeless, was arrested when an officer spotted him in bushes near St Peter's Church.

A bag of powder, later found to be amphetamine, was discovered inside of his mouth.

Officers also seized a bag containing tools, gloves, a hat, a torch and keys.

Grzelewski, of no fixed abode, admitted burglary, possession of a class B drug and breaching a suspended sentence.

He also asked for one further domestic burglary and three commercial burglaries to be taken into consideration by a judge on Friday, August 12.

The defendant will be extradited to Poland after serving his sentence as a European arrest warrant in his name has been issued.

Mitigating, Kevin Hill said Grzelewski had believed the flat was empty.

"He has cooperated fully with the police - he gave the police further information about other offences he had committed," Mr Hill said.

"He is described [by the Probation Service] as having a good understanding of his own offending behaviour."

Mr Hill said Grzelewski "does not seek to excuse his behaviour", but added that "poor circumstances" had contributed to the offences.

Judge Brian Forster QC sentenced the defendant to 60 weeks in prison.