Island Ward councillor Ronnie Bauer scared off two teenage would-be burglars from a home invasion after telling them he was in Covid-19 isolation.
Cr Bauer was watching TV at his Cowes west home on Tuesday about midnight when he heard two voices downstairs.

“So I went downstairs and I confronted one of them on the stairs. He stopped like a rabbit in the headlights,” Cr Bauer said.
“I stared him down and told him if he wanted to catch Covid then he was welcome to stay.
“He told me ‘I thought I lived here’ and then shot off. His companion had already flown out the back door.”

Cr Bauer said the teen was aged about 14 and 165cm tall and they stole nothing and no one was hurt.
“I didn’t call police because they have better things to do but they ended up coming the next day and taking a statement because someone had told them about my post on Facebook, where I described the incident.”

Cr Bauer said his wife Nancie slept through the incident while their dog, a spoodle, “barks at everything except what he should be barking at”.
He admitted he had left the back door open and urged people to be vigilant at this busy peak holiday season.
“As much as we think this is a safe haven, we should take simple precautions at this time of year.
“If we had not been home could have been a different story.”

Cr Bauer and his wife were isolating from Covid after their daughter contracted the illness on New Year’s day.