Chef wakes up to burglar raiding his house and detains him for 20 minutes

Top chef Lee Skeet has recounted the chilling moment he awoke to the sound of an intruder rifling through his belongings. At 6am, in his Pontcanna home located in Cardiff, he heard footsteps descending his stairs.

Believing he was alone in his home, the culinary maestro behind Jackson's and Cora patiently waited for silence before venturing out of his bedroom to investigate. Descending the stairs, Lee found that not only had his front door been left ajar, but approximately £400 in cash had vanished from his kitchen.

Reflecting on the August 12 incident, he recalled, "It was around 6am on Monday and I could hear someone outside the door," adding, "You know when you wake up and it takes a second to get your bearings? ".

Realisation struck him as his kids were away and his partner hadn't stayed over the previous night; it was clear to him that a burglary had occurred. Shocked by the brazen break-in, Lee stumbled upon open front doors and saw the money snatched away.

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Motivated by the recent exit of the burglar, Lee decided to pursue the culprit: "Once I realised there was no-one in the house I went outside and saw the guy about 50m away ducking into someone else's garden," he shared. The empty streets at 6am painted a serene backdrop to this unsettling encounter, reports Wales Online.

"I walked up carefully and crept up. I didn't know if he had a knife on him so I was sort of assessing the situation. I could see him sitting on a patio counting money and I was close enough to notice the money was from a country I'd recently been to so it was a bit circumstantial."

"He had his back to me and I walked up to him and asked him what he was doing. He jumped out of his skin. He said he lived there but I told him I knew he'd just been in my house. I knew he was going nowhere he looked terrified."

"I wanted to lay into him but I was quite restrained. I just asked him why he was doing this and that he'd made a big mistake. The neighbours heard us and came out and called the police. I told him to not move until the police arrived and he didn't."

"I was standing next to him for about 20 minutes until the police got there. It was awkward I felt sorry for him a bit. He started telling me stuff about his life and why he was doing that kind of thing and I did start to empathise with him a bit."

Lee stated that six police officers arrived and the man was arrested. "It was odd because he'd been pretty quiet but as soon as the police got there he became quite mouthy and the police had to get involved," Lee added.

"It was a strange experience. A year ago I'd have beaten him up but anger management coupled with MMA stopped me. I can't express enough what training in MMA can do for your confidence."

A South Wales Police spokesperson revealed: "Police were called to a report of burglary in Cathedral Road at 6.55am on Monday, August 12. Officers arrived within six minutes of the call and a man was arrested at the scene. Shaun Powell, 48, from Bristol, has been charged with burglary. He appeared at Cardiff Magistrates' Court on Tuesday, August 13 and was remanded in custody."

They added that on Friday, September 13, Powell pleaded guilty to the charge and is now set for sentencing on Friday, September 20.