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A man broke into Sir Alan Ayckbourn's home and exchanged greetings with the playwright before stealing possessions worth over £13,000, a court has heard.Anthony Kelly, 31, was looking for valuables inside the five-storey house in Scarborough when he saw the writer.
He said: "Hi Sir Alan, how are you?" before the 71-year-old, who did not realise he was a burglar, replied that he was fine, York Crown Court was told.
Kelly, who had pleaded guilty to burglary, was jailed for 18 months.
He had also admitted another burglary and a charge of handing stolen goods.
Couple distressed
Sir Alan, famous for plays such as The Norman Conquests and Woman In Mind, had assumed Kelly was visiting a member of his staff.
After their conversation in the seafront mansion, Kelly took thousands of pounds worth of jewellery belonging to Sir Alan's wife Heather, the court heard.
He also stole Sir Alan's personalised black iPod, inscribed 'Sir Alan Ayckbourn', as well as cash and a rucksack.
Police found Kelly's fingerprints on a letterbox and traced him to his mother's address nearby.
Sentencing Kelly on Monday, Judge John Swanson said: "You entered a large property where this very successful man entertains many visitors and friends and family.
"You came across him and he assumed you were visiting someone in the house so there was no confrontation, which is a mercy.
"In fact, he was facing an intruder in his own home."
Prosecuting, David Garnett said: "He [Kelly] found himself within the five-floor property... and Sir Alan came face to face with him.
"But the property enjoys very many visitors, and Sir Alan assumed the defendant was visiting one of the property's many housekeepers and didn't think any more of it until later when he discovered items were missing.
"This clearly caused Sir Alan and his wife some distress, particularly Sir Alan who then realised he had come face to face with the intruder."
Of the £13,375 of items stolen only £2,000 worth have been recovered.This article is from the BBC News website. ? British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.