But his flagrant disregard for law and order sunk to a new low recently, when he returned home after a long night of pilfering with a cannabis bong and a ziplock bag of unidentified white powder, as well as a pair of knickers strewn across the garden fence for good measure.

“We’ve been playing a bit of cat and mouse with this prolific offender,” a police spokesperson told the local media outlet Stuff.

“Of particular concern is Keith’s latest find – an implement used to smoke cannabis. We’ll be seizing the implement and speaking to Keith about where he’s acquired it from.”

‘I suggested to him diamonds and cash would be better’

So productive is Keith’s habit that his owners, Ginny and David Rumbold, normally spend their early mornings rounding up his night’s haul and placing it in plastic containers at the front of their home so the neighbours can reclaim their property.

“I suggested to him diamonds and cash would be better,” Ginny Rumbold told Stuff. “But that hasn’t happened so far.”