When one is stealing a car, one should not be so drunk one passes out asleep inside the car before leaving the crime of the scene. 

This is exactly what happened in Novokuznetsk in south-western Siberia.

The owner of the car came across the would be thief, Jacob Tokaryev, 32, still snoozing in his vehicle.

Police spokesman Arkhip Isayev, 37, said: "He got drunk the previous night. He could not walk home but said he could not afford a taxi either as he'd run out of cash because he'd spent it all on drink. So he thought he'd take a car. He was very apologetic but that won't save him from a court appearance."

Police said he broke a pane of window glass in his victim's Lada Samara car and also damaged the ignition in his drunken fumblings to try to start the engine.

Car owner Ivan Deshensky, 34, said: "You can imagine how I felt when I came to go to work and found this guy asleep under the wheel. I opened the car door and he stank of booze. There was broken glass all over the car and I saw that he had managed to smash the ignition mounting where the key goes.

"It might be funny to an onlooker but the car is my livelihood."

Police spokesman Isayev said: "The man will be charged with drunkenness, attempted theft and criminal damage."