A robber was arrested after a pensioner overpowered him and tied his hands behind his back with a belt.

The altercation happened after Kevin Lever, 43, broke into an elderly woman's house in Edinburgh's Grange area and bagged a laptop and an ornamental urn.

A 73-year-old neighbour saw lights on in the house and an open door at the rear of the property.

When he went inside to investigate, he found the stolen items and confronted the robber.

Edinburgh Sheriff Court heard the neighbour challenged Lever, asking him "are we going to fight?"

He then pulled the thief's hands behind his back and tied them with his belt before calling police.

Sheriff Alison Stirling was told the neighbour was looking after the house while its owner was in care.

The urn Leven had tried to steal contained the ashes of the homeowner's dead husband.

He was also found to have taken £30 in cash that was to have been used to pay window cleaners.

Defence solicitor Ross Gardner said his client had just been released from a four-month jail sentence and was dealing with some family issues.

Mr Gardner claimed Lever "genuinely wants to change things" and had contacted the Lothian Substance Abuse Service in an attempt to obtain psychological help.

Sheriff Stirling deferred sentence on Lever and told him: "It seems to me what you need is some sort of support, but that may be after having served a substantial prison sentence."