A householder chased a robber out of his home and into a local pub where he bought him a drink, a court heard.

Fred Foreman was in his house with his wife, Tracy, when they found Alexander Hockett, aged 34, in their property.

Mr Foreman sprang into action and chased Hockett out of his house all the way to the Corn Exchange Wetherspoons pub in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk.

Amazingly the pair did not come to blows but had a pint together after Mr Foreman offered to buy him a drink.

Hockett was later arrested in the pub and was sentenced to four years behind bars on Monday at Ipswich Crown Court.

Mr Foreman said he felt sorry for Hockett after he was told by him that he was homeless and desperate.

The serial burglar admitted breaking into Mr Foreman's home on November 12 last year as well as a burglary of a home in Haverhill, Suffolk in August 2013.

The 55-year-old described the pursuit as an "adrenaline rush".

He added: "I just kept on chasing him, I guess I was angry which is why I wanted to catch him.

"He stopped in someone's front garden and told me not to touch him.

"I asked 'what's going on?' and he said he was sleeping rough. Then he ran off again.

"I kept on chasing him and he ran into Wetherspoons for some reason."

Mr Foreman went in after him and found the panting burglar trying to hide behind a menu.

According to Mr Foreman "He said to me 'you can't half run for an old geezer'. We were both huffing and buffing and I just asked 'do you want a pint?'.

Hockett told his victim that he was sleeping rough and Mr Foreman took pity on him.

He said: "He (Hockett) is not a nasty bloke, at least he wasn't to me. It was an opportunistic crime."

While the two were talking Mr Foreman was called by the police who told him to stay with Hockett until they arrived.

The Foremans have since questioned whether a custodial sentence was the best thing for Hockett.

In the wake of the robbery the couple have did increase their security but putting up better fencing and new gates.