A man has been charged with murder after he allegedly confronted a burglar on Saturday morning in Australia.

A man in Australia has been charged with murder after he allegedly confronted a burglar who broke into his house on Saturday morning and left the man with fatal injuries.

Police say a 34-year-old man broke into a house in New South Wales at 3.30am on Saturday and was discovered by two men.

It is believed one man lived at the Cleary Street home in Hamilton, Newcastle, with his young family, while the other man was his friend.

Jonathan Carroll A man allegedly broke into this house in New South Wales, Australia, on Saturday.

A fight broke out when the pair confronted the intruder, police say, leaving the man unconscious and "unresponsive".

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Police were called, and officers arrived to find the intruder being "detained" by the men.

He was rushed to John Hunter Hospital in a critical condition and placed onto life support. He died at 11.30am on Sunday when his life support was switched off.

The man who lived at the house, aged 33, was also taken to John Hunter Hospital and treated for facial injuries.

Following the fight, he was initially taken to Newcastle police station, charged with recklessly inflicting grievous bodily harm, and released on conditional bail.

However, this charge was upgraded to murder at 5pm on Sunday when the man handed himself in to police following news the intruder had died.

He was refused bail and will face Newcastle Court on Monday.

The other man who allegedly helped detain the 34-year-old has not been charged, police said.

A report will be prepared for the Coroner.