The man desperately fled over the garden gate (Picture: SWNS)

A would-be burglar realised he had targeted the wrong house when he was chased away by a female England rugby player.

Ceri Large, who represented her country at the Women’s Rugby World Cup in 2014, said she ‘probably would have battered’ the man if he hadn’t got away.

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Dramatic CCTV footage of the burglar’s escape shows him desperately throwing himself over a six foot gate as Ceri, 27, gives chase.

He was then seen running down the street in Cinderford, Gloucestershire, in his boxers after his jeans fell down during the escape.


Fly-half Ceri said: ‘He was a scrawny, vile little coward and I was probably bigger than him, so it was lucky we didn’t catch him – if I had, I probably would have battered him.

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‘You should have seen him jump over that gate. I bet he doesn’t tell people he was chased away by a girl.



‘His jeans were so baggy that they fell down around his ankles, so he ended up running down the road in his boxers.’

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Ceri had a group of friends from Drybrook Rugby Club staying overnight at her patents’ house, and had left the back door open for her brother and his friend, who were expected to be home late.

But at about 2.20am she was woken by noises downstairs and soon realised someone was in the house.

She hid in the dark, watching the man creep in and out of the bedrooms, before confronting him.

England player Ceri gave chase to the intruder (Picture: Getty)

Ceri said: ‘I was in pitch black so I just switched on my phone light in his face and screamed, ‘There’s a man in the house’ at the top of my voice.

‘My friends said afterwards they had never heard anything like it.

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‘He just scarpered. He must have been scared because he jumped from the top of the stairs to the bottom and broke the bottom step.

‘It’s a shame he didn’t go right through and get stuck.

‘I chased him out and my friend was just behind, but we decided not to follow when he jumped over a six foot gate and ran off.’

CCTV footage captured the man running away from the house (Picture: SWNS)

Nothing was stolen, and the CCTV footage was unearthed when Ceri’s parents returned from their holiday to the Isle of Wight.

Ceri has warned people living in the area not to leave their back doors open.

She said the man had dark, scruffy hair and a goatie beard and moustache, and an accomplice wore a grey hoodie and a flat cap.

A spokesman for Gloucestershire Police said: ‘Shortly before 2.30am, an unknown male offender entered a property through an insecure door.

‘The man was disturbed by a female and she chased him out of the property and the offender ran towards St White’s Road, where he was joined by a second male.

‘Nothing is believed to have been stolen in the incident.’