TWO hapless Ammanford teen burglars raided what they believed was a Vietnamese run cannabis farm only to discover they had broken into a Lebanese-owned car wash.

Cousins David Alan Davies, of 32 Heol Llwchwr, and Steven Mark Rees, of 15 Rhoddfa Frank, targeted the Penybanc Car Wash at 9.45pm on December 10 expecting to find an illegal drugs factory.

Instead the 19-year-olds found themselves in a working car wash.

District Judge Vivian Manning-Davies, sitting at Llanelli, heard how the pair used hammers to break into the building and stole a laptop computer and digital camera with a combined value of £900.

Gerald Neave, prosecuting, said both men ran from the scene after police arrived midway through the raid, but Rees soon “came out of the undergrowth”.

He had the camera in his pocket and pointed officers to where the computer was hidden. Davies was arrested at a nearby address.

In interview, the pair said they believed Vietnamese criminals were operating a cannabis factory at the site.

Rees admitted stealing the camera and laptop, adding: “I was short of money for Christmas so took them to sell on.”

Davies told officers he smoked cannabis, but could not afford to buy the Class B drug.

He admitted smashing a CCTV camera at the site.

The pair, who appeared by video link from Swansea Prison, were only released from a young offenders’ institution on licence in September after Davies had been sentenced to 20 months and Rees 18 months for assault and theft last year.

Aled Owen, defending, described the pair as “habitual cannabis users”.

“They acted on information that these people were Vietnamese and so went there to steal the cannabis. In fact the owners were Lebanese.”

The pair smashed three “locking mechanisms”, valued at £1,500, to break into the site.

Both men admitted burglary. Rees was sentenced to four months and Davies five months at a young offenders’ institution.