A BAR owner turned detective after a man tried to break into his business.

Blackburn magistrates heard Gary Perkins took an image off the CCTV footage of the incident and posted it on Facebook.

He received several messages identifying the intruder as Matthew Thomas Lang and the information was passed to the police.

Lang, 32, of Belgrave Road, Darwen, pleaded guilty to attempted burglary at The Taps Bar, Railway Road. He was sentenced to eight weeks in prison suspended for 12 months and ordered to pay £100 compensation.

Peter Bardsley, prosecuting, said the CCTV footage captured Lang force up the shutters at 5.40am.

"He could then be seen messing with the lock," said Mr Bardsley.

"He snapped the barrel on the lock but didn't manage to get into the bar."

Mr Bardsley said 11 days after the incident Mr Perkins was approached by a third party who said Lang wanted to apologise and offered money to pay for the lock.

Ben Leech, defending, said 2021 had been a bad year for his client.

"There was a time when he was without benefits, without accommodation and not subject to any form of supervision," said Mr Leech. "His family were not supportive of him and he was struggling."

He said Lang had been living in a tent pitched near Darwen Reservoir.

"As the nights got colder it became more difficult to sleep and he turned to alcohol to numb the pain," said Mr Leech.

"Initially, when he committed this offence, he was just looking for somewhere to shelter before trying to get into the premises."

Mr Leech said his client wanted to make positive changes to his lifestyle.

"He has built some bridges with his family and believes that with the support of the probation service he can maintain an offence-free life."