A MAN, who had a 50-centimetre machete strapped to him, has been confronted during a break-in at a Wagga home.
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The owner of the Martin Street, Tolland, home - a 62-year-old woman - has told police she woke to find the man removing items from a garden shed in the backyard about 2.40am.
Neighbours were also alerted by a barking dog.
Wagga police duty officer Inspector Beth Cullen said the woman confronted the man, who was wearing a blue bike helmet and a black hoodie, by yelling out and he "took off over the back fence".
"She challenged him ... it was a brave thing for her to do," Inspector Cullen said.
The woman then alerted police, who arrived a short time later.
"Police found a male matching the description about 50 metres away in Anne Street and pursued him on foot for about 150 metres," she said.
"When (the man was) arrested police found he had a machete strapped under his jumper."
A Stanley knife was also found in his pants.
Inspector Cullen said officers found a bag containing several items, believed to have been stolen, nearby.
"A subsequent search found what's believed to be cannabis on him," she said.
While in custody, police say a "cylindrical container filled with green vegetable matter fell from between the cheeks of his buttocks".
The man allegedly told officers: "I don't know how that got there. It must be my mates."
The 36-year-old Mount Austin man was charged with break and enter, carry cutting weapon upon apprehension, custody of a knife in a public place, goods in custody suspected of being stolen and possessing a prohibited drug.
The man is due to front Wagga Local Court on July 16.