A MAN came home to find an intruder chilling out on his bed, drinking wine and watching his Die Hard DVD.

The 46-year-old homeowner couldn’t believe the sight he’d walked into and declared: “What a ******* cheek”.

The pair then got into a fight which ended with the intruder lying face down in the mud outside the house in Witchards, Basildon, just as police arrived.

The victim, who asked not to be named, realised there was someone in his house when he arrived home from work.

The non-smoker could smell cigarettes and heard a television on upstairs.

He grabbed a walking stick, quietly called police and then went upstairs to find the drunk and brazen burglar lying on the bed.

He said: “I walked into the back bedroom and there was this guy watching TV.

“He had selected a DVD from the bookshelf – it was Die Hard 3 – put it in the machine and set himself up for the night.

“He was visibly drunk and there were a couple of bottles of wine of the floor, which he must have brought with him.

“He was also drinking a couple of bottles of beer, which he had taken from my fridge, which really put me in a bad mood.”

The man, believed to be Polish, began rambling at his victim, before saying “sorry boss”.

The pair then wrestled before the man hit the intruder with the walking stick.

The intruder fell into the book case, sending it tumbling, before striking back at the victim.

The fight eventually spilled on to the landing and down the stairs, knocking over pictures and furniture along the way.

The man then shoved the victim to the ground and tried to flee, but the resident kept hold of him.

The fight spilled out on to the street and the would-be burglar ended up face down in the mud, where he was pinned down by the have-a-go hero until police arrived. He added: “I did think after we started fighting that he could have had a knife, but the best thing was to keep fighting.

“I just thought that I could probably take him on so that’s what I did. But it is a real shock to come home and find someone in your home.

“A lot of my neighbours are elderly so in a way I’m glad it was me this happened to, but afterwards I did have a couple of whiskies to steady my nerves.”

A 41-year-old man, of no fixed address, was arrested following the incident which happened at 7.30pm last Thursday, but has been released without charge.

Police said they had released the intruder without charge due to certain background information, but refused to reveal details.

A spokesman said the investigation was ongoing.