Search called off after burglar who fled into sewer feared dead

A BURGLAR is thought to have died in a Leeds sewer after going on the run underground.
Supt Pat Twiggs.Supt Pat Twiggs.
Supt Pat Twiggs.

The man and an accomplice escaped after police went to investigate a break-in at a set of commercial buildings near the city centre.

One is thought to have run off above ground, but the other is believed to have clambered into the sewerage system beneath Hope Road near West Yorkshire Playhouse.

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A major search operation by emergency services failed to find any sign of him – except for a set of footprints that eventually tailed off.

Today – 48 hours after he disappeared – it is feared he will have had little chance of surviving in the poisonous conditions of the sewers.

Supt Pat Twiggs, of City and Holbeck police, said: “Our fear is that, because of the levels of toxic gas, anyone in there wouldn’t have survived for more than around ten minutes. Essentially now we are looking for a body.”

Police were called to Hope Road at 11.30am on Sunday after an alarm went off. When they got there, the two suspects, who may have been trying to break into a jewellers, were seen running away over the rooftops.

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One is then thought to have got into the sewers via a storm drain under Hope Road.

A set of footprints was found leading about half a mile to where the water system meets the foul system, but the levels of toxic gas then became too severe for the rescue teams to continue. Further searches using robots fitted with cameras and lights failed to yield success. The search was called off in the early hours of yesterday.

It is thought the man’s body may eventually turn up at Knostrop sewage treatment works.

Police believe the other burglar may have been injured in the original break-in. They have appealed to him, or anyone with information, to contact them 101.

Because the incident happened during an investigation, the matter has been referred to the Independent Police Complaints Commission.