Mini crimewave: The dwarf burglar who squeezed through tiny holes to help gang steal scrap metal

Lee Kildare, who is 3ft 11in tall, climbed into nooks and crannies to help them plunder scrap metal from empty buildings.

But the 22-year-old was caught in the act when a police officer spotted his head poking through a small hole in the front door of a house he was raiding.

Little blighter: Lee Kildare outside Newcastle Magistrates Court

His partner in crime had fled, leaving him to take the rap.

Kildare was spared jail and given a community service order even though he had been convicted of a similar offence hours before carrying out this burglary.

The diminutive criminal was recruited by burglars to get through holes that a full-sized person would be unable to enter, a court was told.

They stole scrap metal which they sold at local yards in Newcastle upon Tyne, splitting the proceeds.

Michael Crowe, defending Kildare, said his client was not only able to get inside buildings more easily but he was also - normally - more likely to evade capture.

'He was able to get through a small hole in the house in question, and it is right to say he is taken advantage of on occasion by others,' he told Newcastle Magistrates' Court.

'They encourage him to participate in this activity because, as a result of his size, he finds it easier to get into smaller places.'

Low behaviour: Kildare was caught squeezing through this broken door panel

Kildare was born with achondroplasia, a form of dwarfism.

Fiona Varley, prosecuting, said Kildare was found inside an empty house in Newcastle on May 2 after a security guard heard voices and the sound of metal being moved about inside.

'He contacted the police and returned to the property and could still hear the noises inside and the sound of metal being moved,' she said.

'The security guard saw a broken panel on the bottom of the front door. Officers attended and they could see tiles falling from the roof and a head poking out of a hole.

'While the PC was liaising with the security guard, a male now known to be Lee Kildare poked his head through a broken panel in the door.

'The defendant helped himself through the hole and was arrested. There were several pieces of metal around the area.'

An accomplice was spotted fleeing the scene, and Kildare was arrested and taken to a local police station.

'He was very drunk and said if the police hadn't arrived he would have stolen the copper,' Miss Varley said.

'When asked about the scrap metal lying around the house, he said he couldn't remember anything about it but said he probably would have stolen that too.'

Kildare had committed the burglary hours after appearing before the same court where he was convicted of a similar offence and given a conditional discharge.

Kildare, who lives with his mother in the Walker area of Newcastle, admitted burglary and was given a 12-month community order with supervision and told to stick to a curfew between 8pm and 7am for three months.