A pair of bungling teenage burglars fell through the ceiling of a Cross Hands restaurant in the middle of a midnight snack raid.

The 16-year-olds, who cannot be named for legal reasons, targeted the Little Chef restaurant on January 13 but ended up setting off the alarms when they fell from the attic into the ladies toilets.

The boozed-up blunderers - who claimed to have drunk up to 15 bottles of beer before the raid - admitted attempting to burgle the restaurant, but claimed they were in only in search of a late-night meal.

Llanelli magistrates dismissed a £2,500 compensation claim from restaurant bosses.

The court heard how the hooded raiders had fled the restaurant after triggering the alarms, but one was soon caught.

In interview, he claimed that he had drunk up to 15 bottles of lager in the build-up to the raid.

He told officers that he had spotted an open door when walking past the restaurant so he went inside and climbed into the attic.

Mal Davies, prosecuting, said the second boy - who claimed he had drunk six bottles of strong lager - admitted going into the restaurant in search of food.

Defence solicitors said that they had never seen a compensation claim on the scale of the one submitted after the nation-wide company asked for £2,500.

The teenage burglars were each order to complete a six-month referral order. They were also made to pay £15 towards court costs.