A burglar who smashed his way into the café at Margate railway station was caught on CCTV during his search for booze.
Ricky Hodgkins broke a window and tried sneaking across the kitchen counters before mis-stepping and crashing to the floor.
The incident happened at around 8pm on Thursday, March 26. He has since been jailed for 90 days.
He was caught even before the burglary was complete, with a member of rail staff seeing Hodgkin’s foot slipping through the broken window.
The staff member challenged Hodgkins while the burglar was stood inside the shop, at the same time calling British Transport Police.
Officers arrived to find the 40-year-old on the station grounds with an armful of beer.
He claimed he had bought the booze from Tesco. He was bleeding from his wrists and left knee but claimed it was from a fight earlier in the day.
They also found empty bottles of wine and beer inside the café.
He continued to deny any wrongdoing, even claiming he had been let inside the closed café by a staff member but slipped up when he asked officers to get his carrier bag from inside the café.
It was found behind a refrigerator below the broken window. He later admitted burglary while he was in hospital being treated for his injuries.
Hodgkins, of no fixed address, pleaded guilty to burglary, and to a criminal damage charge he received when he spat inside the police van taking him to custody.
He was sentenced at Canterbury Magistrates Court on Saturday, March 28.
PC Gary Reader, of British Transport Police, said: “The footage is very conclusive. Despite his claims, Hodgkins clearly broke into the café on his hunt for more alcohol. He did it in plain sight, on video and left further evidence behind as he clambered into the building.
“Stations, and the shops within, are well covered by CCTV, and that’s evidence we’ll always use to identify criminals and make sure they see justice.”