A court yesterday heard how a man, who occasionally stays with his elderly mother, was startled by two burglars and how he managed to chase them off.

Manuel Calleja was testifying against James Vella, 25, from Santa Venera, who is accused of attempting to burgle the houses of two elderly people in Rabat on 7 May.

Mr Calleja testified that on the day in question, he was lying in bed while his mother was out to church and heard a loud noise at the front door. He stirred and went to check it out and realised that two men had gained entry to the house and were staring at him from the hallway.

He said that he managed to chase them out but lost them after they jumped into a field. He said that he saw another man some 500 metres away, who was talking on his mobile phone. He said he became suspicious, so he got into his car and drove up to him, asking him his business. The man, who he identified as the accused, told him he was waiting for his mother and girlfriend to turn up, but them abruptly ended the conversation and ran off.

Questioned by the defence, the witness admitted that he had approached the man aggressively. He said that while he recognised the accused, he said that he must have shaved his hair since their meeting. The witness also said that the accused was not one of the men who had broken into his mother’s house.

Police inspector Geoffrey Azzopardi prosecuted while Dr Franco Debono appeared for the accused.