A German burglar who broke into Aachen sports club was nabbed after he tried to find the lightswitch - and managed to turn on the floodlights for a football field. In an additional flourish, criminal mastermind Johann Stark, 46, also managed to switch on the football pitch sprinkler system when he tried to get himself a glass of water.

A police spokesman said: "He had no torch and turned on the first light switch that he could find - the switch to the floodlights of the club's football pitch". Police were called out by the club's groundsman who saw the floodlights from his nearby home.