Two burglars who smashed their way into a historic gay bookshop in London were caught by police – after they stuck around to drink prosecco found at the store. The pair were discovered downing the fizz in the basement kitchen of Gay’s The Word, in Bloomsbury, at 3am on Sunday. They had already polished off a bottle of tequila. “They got distracted by the booze and were here when the police arrived,” said bookseller Uli Lenart. “It puts me in mind of a Joe Orton play.” The rogues have since admitted the break-in at the store – the capital’s first gay bookshop when it opened in 1979 – and been sentenced. One was jailed for six months; the other given a 16-week term suspended for a year. “I think they were looking for cash, but when they didn’t find any, they started bringing up computer equipment from the basement,” Mr Lenart told The Guardian.