A SHOPLIFTER who tried to escape police by crawling into a storm drain next to a river was caught after he became stuck in the pipe.
The man was arrested by police in Darlington shortly after 9am yesterday. He had gone into the pipe by the River Skerne, near Valley Street.
It is the second time in a few months that Darlington police have chased someone hiding in a storm drain.
In August, police pursued another man though the town centre and through a furniture store before he went into the River Skerne and into a storm drain.
Eight firefighters and 12 police officers, using Durham Fire Brigade's boat, searched for the man for two hours, but failed to catch him.
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