A 19-year-old man who attempted to steal a €4,000 watch from the wrist of a woman while she was asleep in her house has been arrested in Paphos, police said on Friday.

Paphos deputy police chief Michalis Ioannou said they received information about an unknown person breaking into a house in the Melanos area in Chlorakas a few minutes after midnight on Friday.

Officers rushed to the scene where they saw a couple waiting outside their residence. The neighbour of the adjacent house, a 26-year-old man, was also outside. The residents pointed to another man who was at the yard of the 26-year-old’s house.

Police arrested the suspect, a 19-year-old political asylum seeker, who was transferred to the Paphos CID offices.

Ioannou said the man allegedly entered the house of the couple and attempted to steal the watch, worth €4,000, from the 51-year-old woman’s wrist while she was sleeping.