A HAPLESS Ipswich thief is under curfew today after a botched bid to burgle a pawn shop to retrieve a printer he believed was his.

A HAPLESS Ipswich thief is under curfew today after a botched bid to burgle a pawn shop to retrieve a printer he believed was his.

Ben Webber's bungled break-in ended in failure as the hole he made to manoeuvre the printer out of the premises was not big enough.

The doomed retrieval mission ended when he was arrested nearby with cuts all over him caused by glass he shattered.

South East Suffolk Magistrates' Court also heard the 23-year-old still had a hospital needle in him at the time of his capture, after discharging himself following a drug overdose.

Prosecutor Sandra Dyer said Webber was walking past PC Factory in High Street, Ipswich, at 7.40am on Sunday, June 7, when the burglary occurred. He previously pawned a Canon printer and was in dispute over its ownership with the shop.

Seizing his chance to get it back, Webber, of Hogarth Road, smashed the front door of the premises. The court heard he then found a metal pole, before using it in an attempt to pull the box the printer was in towards him.

The shop's burglar alarm went off and Webber was caught on CCTV trying to break-in. When police arrived Webber had cuts on him caused by his aborted bid to get the printer out of the building.

Miss Dyer said around two months before the incident, Webber had pawned the printer for �80 and shop staff told him he needed to pay back �120 within two months to have it returned.

A dispute arose over the length of time the money was paid for the return of the printer. Staff told Webber he had to pay a further �20 as he was outside the time limit.

Ian Duckworth, mitigating, said during the previous 36 hours Webber had overdosed on drugs, but had insisted on leaving hospital.

Judge David Cooper put Webber - who pleaded guilty to burglary with intent to steal - under a curfew order from 9pm to 7am for three months. He must also pay �150 compensation to PC Factory.