BURNS might have captured the incident in a poem, but members of Headley Twinning Association were not feeling very poetic when they arrived at Headley Village Hall for their annual Burns Night on Saturday.

When organiser Barbara North, daughter Lindy Cornish and grand-daughter Claire arrived at 6pm to carry out the final preparations, they found the intruder crying on the stairs and blood on the floor.

Mrs North told the Bordon Herald: "When we went in we saw a man, aged about 25, sitting on the stairs crying.

"He was drinking a bottle of whisky which had been one of our raffle prizes. It was a bit of a shock as I had been in earlier to set the tables and everything was ready. The man stayed there crying for about five minutes as I began calling the police and then he left.

"I found he had broken in by breaking the glass in the emergency door at the back of the hall."

The supper had to be delayed as Hampshire Police collected forensic evidence and statements.

For full story, see this week's Bordon Herald.