Criminally Stupid

Thief Makes Getaway on Pedal Go-cart

A burglar tried to pedal his way to freedom on a go-cart in Germany. The thief jumped on the kids' vehicle while making a hasty getaway. But in the end his unorthodox bid for freedom ended in failure.

A thief who broke into a camera shop in a small German town made his getaway on a pedal go-cart.

When police caught the burglar and an accomplice loading stolen goods into a car, the man first made off on foot. But thinking he could make a quicker escape, he jumped onto a go-cart and trundled along a canal, before switching to a much faster getaway vehicle -- a bike.

The two thieves were caught red-handed while breaking into a camera shop in Senden, a town in the state of North-Rhine Westphalia, in the early hours of Tuesday. Officers immediately arrested one of the thieving duo. The other man managed to escape on foot, but lost a shoe and sock in the getaway. The pursuing officers were able to follow his footmarks to a cemetary, where they lost sight of his distinctive tracks.

However, after a tip-off from a newspaper deliverer, who reported seeing a suspicious man pedalling a go-cart along a canal, officers resumed the hunt. The police then discovered the go-cart abandoned by the canal and some bicycle tracks, which led officers to believe the burglar must have ditched the kids' toy for a bike. Eventually, with the help of backup and a police helicopter, officers managed to track the man down and arrest him, as he tried to escape the police's clutches once again by swimming across a canal.

"The stolen goods, the getaway car, the co-cart, the bike, the shoe, as well as the sock have been secured," a police spokesperson said in a statement.

maw