A 62-year-old Martin Street resident woke to find a man in her backyard about 2.40am this morning.

Inspector Elizabeth Cullen said the man had allegedly been removing items from a garden shed when the owner confronted him.

“She challenged him, then he basically jumped the back fence and ran away,” Inspector Cullen said.

“Police were called and attended a short time later and found a male matching the description in Anne Street.

“The man ran away and police chased him for about 150m on foot.”

The 36-year-old Mt Austin man was arrested and was allegedly found with the machete, cannabis and stolen property.

“He’s been charged with break and enter and stealing, possessing a prohibited drug and possessing goods in custody,” Inspector Cullen said.

The man may face further weapons charges.

“The owner did a really good job,” Ms Cullen said. 

“She was pretty brave to confront him.

“There’s no indication he threatened the owner or anything else, but the machete was taped to his back.”

The man is expected to face court at a later date.