Luke Sargent-Fisher, 20, pleaded guilty to burgling a house in Surrey, but said that as he suffers from "attention deficit hyperactivity disorder" which causes disruption to sleep patterns, he would be unable to carry out community service, the Daily Express reported.

The defence lawyer told the court that Sargent-Fisher suffered from an undefined sleeping disorder that meant "he is awake for anything up to two weeks at a time and then he crashes and can be out for a day or two".

Priti Patel said Sargent-Fisher's let-off made a "mockery of justice".

"This decision defies common sense and shows how the criminal justice system is now so weak it lets work-shy offenders use feeble excuses to escape punishment," she said.

"In this case a bit of hard work would have done this burglar no harm. This is yet another feeble excuse as to why this man should not be punished for his crime."

"His sleep disorder did not stop him from burgling and causing his victims undue misery, which is why his disorder should not prevent him from being punished. This case makes a mockery of our justice system," Patel said.