A BURGLAR who was collared by two cleaning ladies at a Blackburn school has apologised to his captors and said: "I have never been so glad to see a policeman".

Peter Howieson told a court he would never forget the day he fell foul of the battling women who wiped the floor with him.

The cleaning ladies, Susan Taylor, 42, of Darwen, and Elizabeth Hartley, 35, from Little Harwood pinned Howieson to the wall when they discovered him on the loose with a video under his arm in the sixth-form centre at Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School.

Howieson, of Ulverston Close, Blackburn, was put on probation for 12 months after pleading guilty to burglary with intent to steal.

A condition of the order is that Howieson attends the Think First programme, designed to make offenders consider the results of their actions and stop offending.

He told magistrates: "I don't need anyone to remind me of what can happen. I remember having a tugging match with a classroom door and one of the ladies and when I eventually got out they both jumped me.

"They banged my head against the wall and they made me sit on the floor until the police arrived.

"I have never been so glad to see a policeman. It's embarrassing, but they gave me a good hiding."

Howieson said he did not hold a grudge against the cleaning ladies and wished to apologise publicly. "I was in the wrong and I deserve everything I got then and in court. I am sorry if I caused the ladies any distress."

Earlier, magistrates were told Susan Taylor found Howieson in a classroom with a video recorder under his arm. He put it down and tried to flee, but she held on to the classroom door and shouted for help.

Colleague Elizabeth Hartley answered the call and the two of them managed to detain Howieson.

Michael Blacklidge, defending, said the struggle had been brief and "somewhat one-sided."

Susan said at the time: "I grabbed hold of the door handle to stop him getting out. He knew he'd met his match."