A burglar's passion for video games saw him end up behind bars in Moscow, media reports said on Tuesday.

Two criminals, named only as Aleksei, 34, and Artyom, 30, broke into a home in southeastern Moscow through a window. The flat's owner, Viktoria, was out, but her young son and his friend were in the apartment playing videogames.

One of the criminals grabbed Viktoria's son and tied his arms to his sides with scotch tape. He then forced the boy to tell him where the valuables were kept.

However, the other thief forgot about the major goal of his visit and started playing video games with the friend, aged 10.

The sudden return of Viktoria frightened away the more experienced criminal, but the second failed to escape from the flat, as the woman bravely held on to him and called the police.

Law enforcers transferred the unlucky thief to the nearest police station and his partner in crime was caught some time later.

MOSCOW, August 31 (RIA Novosti)