LIKE a scene from a James Bond movie, a would-be burglar made his getaway using a canoe along a river chased by a helicopter.

A shocked householder living near the River Tees rang police after the man tried to break into his property, and officers drafted in air support.

Responding to the report, officers tracked the suspect along the River Tees at about 7am yesterday.

As he paddled along the water, heading for Victoria Bridge, Thornaby, the assailant ditched his canoe and made off on foot. The police helicopter then followed the suspect and he was found lying underneath a car.

The events unfolded yesterday when the householder, who lives in Orchard Road, Thornaby, near Middlesbrough, heard a disturbance outside.

As he walked through the house, he saw the man trying to get through a rear window and chased him.

The resident followed the suspect from his garden and across a nearby field before he went back home to call the police.

In a not-so-speedy escape, the suspect paddled furiously for about 500 metres along the river, where he decided to dump the canoe in favour of a sprint.

In the meantime, police in the control room alerted air support and a helicopter was scrambled.

The helicopter searchlights caught the fleeing suspect emerging from the River Tees and followed him to nearby Richardson Road.

Police arrived on the scene and arrested a man lying underneath a red vehicle.

A police spokeswoman said: "This was certainly an unusual way to carry out a burglary. It is the first time we have dealt with a canoe as a getaway vehicle."

The suspect is believed to have broken into a shed at the bottom of the garden before he tried to gain access to the house through a rear window.

* A 37-year-old man was last night being interviewed by officers in connection with an attempted burglary.