Irvine housebreaker gave cops the slip

Jul 3 2009 Irvine Herald

POLICE say they are closing in on a housebreaker who gave officers the slip during a dramatic chase in Irvine on Friday.

The man and an alleged accomplice leapt from a rooftop skylight window after cops looked to have trapped them inside a house in the town’s Mill Road.

A 41-year-old man was arrested after a short foot chase but the second man escaped and was still on the run as we went to press on Tuesday.

The drama unfolded at around 12.45pm after police acted on a tip-off about two men acting suspiciously in back gardens in Mill Road. Officers arrived at the house to find a man allegedly climbing through a window. He managed to get inside and minutes later two men leapt from the roof.

A police source said: “We had received a report of an attempted break-in at a house in Townhead just 45 minutes earlier so when we got the information about Mill Road we were down there in a flash.

“One of the suspects was hanging out of a window when officers arrived and just managed to get in before he was grabbed.

“It looked as though the two officers had them cornered, but desperate people do desperate things and the next thing they knew the suspects had jumped out the window.

“The officers gave chase and did well to apprehend one of them. We are following a positive line of enquiry in relation to the other man.”

The fugitive is described as in his mid thirties and five foot inches tall with dark hair. He was wearing a white top and three-quarter length grey and white jacket.

Police said a 41-year-old man from Girvan had been reported for housebreaking.

Witnesses or anyone with information is urged to call Irvine police on 01294 404400.