A Hamilton man accused of burglary this morning tried to convince police he was sleep walking at the time.

A Lorne St resident woke to find her 18-year-old neighbour in her house at 5am, allegedly stealing a television and laptop.

The woman, who thought the noise was from her husband arriving home, found the man in her lounge wrapping the power cord around her laptop, said Acting Senior Sergeant Craig Taylor.

"He told her to get lost, she left the room and phoned police who arrived a short time later.''

Using a dog police found the man next door asleep on a mattress with the laptop stowed away underneath.

"He tried to convince us he had been in bed the whole night, his story became a bit dubious when the woman's laptop computer and her smokes were found under the mattress of his bed."

Police said the man tried to convince them he must have been sleep walking.

The 18-year-old man was arrested and charged with burglary and will appear in the Hamilton District Court today.