SYDNEY, Dec. 4 (Xinhua) -- Just weeks out from Christmas and the annual visit of the Western world's most adored and celebrated good Samaritan, it seems another chimney-hopping man in Australia has grabbed the attention of the public for all the wrong reasons.

Appearing in court on Tuesday, a 22-year-old man was charged with burglary after he allegedly attempted to break into a pharmacy 70 km north of Australia's Melbourne on Monday evening.

Perhaps inspired by Santa Clause, Victorian State Police said the man tried to climb through the building's chimney.

But unlike St Nick, the would-be burglar became stuck and was forced to call police on himself.

"He was covered head-to-toe in soot, he looked like a 1700s chimney sweep from the U.K.," owner of the store Greg Gibson told 9News.

"The ambulance officer said to him, 'mate are you practising to be Santa?'"

But luckily for the man, the judge presiding over the case was feeling the holiday spirit and decided to grant the accused bail.