Man disturbs hooded housebreaker in kitchen

A SHOP assistant who investigated a banging noise in his kitchen found himself confronting a burglar who had climbed through his flat window.

Ryan Harkness was in bed when he was awoken by sounds from the kitchen of his ground-floor flat in Castle Terrace, off Lothian Road.

The 23-year-old said: “I came in and saw this guy wearing a hoodie standing next to the window. We’d left the latch open and he obviously took the opportunity. I shouted at him and he shouted back in what sounded like Romanian or Albanian. I’ve visited Albania so I’m familiar with the dialect.

“He climbed out back through the window and was gone.

“It was worrying because you don’t know if they are carrying a weapon or what they are going to do.”

The housebreaker, who is described as being in his late 20s to late 30s, 5ft 8in to 5ft 9in tall, slim and wearing dark clothing, escaped empty-handed.

A police spokesman said: “Police responded to Castle Terrace at around 2.40am on Saturday following a report of an attempted housebreaking.

“Anyone who was in the area at the time and saw anything suspicious is asked to come forward.”