A WANTED man was found asleep in the front seat of a car hours after allegedly carrying out an assault.

Carl Mason was alerted to his Ford Fiesta's tired tenant on Sunday morning by his girlfriend, Abbie Bennett, who he initially thought was playing a joke.

But when he looked for himself, he spotted the man in the passenger seat and began knocking on the window.

When there was no response, the 21-year-old came back to the car with his dad and tried to attract the man's attention.

But instead of responding, the mystery man fell back to sleep so Mr Mason called the police.

Maldon and Burnham Standard:

The trailer fitter, of Defoe Crescent, Colchester, said: "I couldn't believe it. I thought Abbie was pulling my strings.

"But when I got out I could see the car alarm was going off - there was no noise but the hazard lights were going so I knew something was up.

"I knocked on the passenger window but he didn't give me any response, so I actually went to get my dad.

"We opened the door and we asked him what he was doing in there.

"He actually just looked at us and decided to go back to sleep. He had a roach [drug parapahalia] on his lap."

Mr Mason added: "When I called the police, they asked for quite a detailed description of him and I was thinking: 'This is a bit weird.'

"They arrived pretty quickly and when they asked him what he was doing, he said he had needles in his pocket and started laughing."

Mr Mason said when officers took the man away, shortly before 11.30am, they told him they had been searching for the man in connection with an assault in a nearby home at about 9.30am.

The victim added: "My car's fine. I don't think he was in any fit state to do anything if I'm honest but you just never know.

"If I hadn't been taking Abbie back to her mum's for Mother's Day, he could've stolen stuff and it could have been a different story."

The car enthusiast admitted he has no idea how the man got into the vehicle.

He added: "To be fair, there was no damage to the car at all so I could have left that door unlocked."

An Essex Police spokesman said: "Police arrested a man after a car was broken into in Defoe Crescent, Colchester shortly before 11.30am on Sunday, March 26.

"The victim called the police after he found his car had been broken into and someone asleep inside.

"Arkim Chigumba, 20, of no fixed abode, was also wanted on recall to prison."

Chigumba was due to appear at Colchester Magistrates’ Court yesterday morning.

He is also charged with using violence to secure entry and assault.