AN elderly householder returned home to find a burglar searching his house.

Instead of fleeing when he realised he’d been caught out, the intruder barricaded himself in an upstairs bedroom so he could continue turning the property upside down.

The crook broke into the house, in The Poplars, Pitsea, by climbing on to the front porch and through a window.

He was ransacking the room, looking for valuables, when the owner, who is in his seventies, returned.

He shouted at the burglar, who barred the bedroom door before eventually leaving empty-handed through a window.

Det Sgt Pete McCormack of Basildon CID said: “This is quite an unusual incident.

“It must have been very upsetting for the victim to come home while someone was in the house.

“A man was seen pacing outside before the incident happened.

“It could have been the suspect, so if you saw anything suspicious at the time, we want to hear from you.”

Witnesses to the break-in, at about 10.15pm on Tuesday, May 17, are asked to call Det Sgt McCormack on 0300 3334444, or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.