A Black Country burglar picked the wrong house to raid when he ended up being chased and caught by a 6ft 7in international kickboxer.

Richard Cole, 20, was alerted to the intruder, when his mother came face to face with the burglar in their Cradley Heath living room and woke the house with her terrified screams.

Kickboxing instructor Richard, wearing only his boxer shorts, came bounding down the stairs to the aid of his pregnant mum, Tracey Lowe, and chased the burglar from the house and down the street.

Tracey’s husband Duncan, himself a kickboxing expert, was also awoken and unluckily for the hapless burglar - also gave chase as the startled intruder fled through the kitchen window.

After a 200m pursuit, it was part-time sales rep Richard who managed to catch up with the sprinting burglar and pin him down until police arrived.

Richard, who has been kickboxing since he was a child, will represent England in the Czech Republic at the World Kickboxing Championships in the summer.

He said: "All I remember is my mum screaming the house down - it woke the whole house up and probably the street.

"Me and my step dad were both in our boxer shorts - but there wasn’t exactly time to get dressed.  I chased him through the kitchen and down the street as my step dad went through the front door.

"I managed to restrain him at the end of the road. I had to hold on to him for 15 to 20 minutes while I waited for the police to come. The whole time he was begging me to let him go, because he said he didn’t want to go to jail again. But there was no way I was going to let him go.

"The whole time I was in my boxer shorts, It didn’t hit me until the police came. The first thing they said was that they should arrest me for indecent assault!

"But they thanked me and said I did a good job.  They also said they could do with me on the force, which was nice to hear.

"My training definitely came in use. The little chump gave me a good run!

"Luckily I didn’t have to do any kickboxing moves - I’ll save those for the competition in the Czech Republic!

"It just annoys me that my pregnant mum and little sister were in that house. I can’t think about what would have happened if I wasn’t there, but it all worked out well in the end."

Richard’s mum Tracey,  who is four months pregnant, had heard a noise in the living room at 3am on Monday.

Thinking it was her son coming home late, she opened the living room door to find the nosey burglar going through her belongings.

The 38-year-old advertising sales executive said: "When I opened the living room door I expected to see Richard but there was a stranger just staring at me."