A man suspected of assault escaped police by jumping into Weymouth Harbour, but was later caught with the help of a lifeboat crew.
Police in Dorset were called to a block of flats in Weymouth after a 22-year-old man was assaulted. They stopped three men in the street near the flats, when one man ran off.
In a bid to escape being caught, the man jumped into Weymouth Harbour.
He dodged the police by swimming between pontoons and hiding behind boats.
The police called the coastguard and the inshore lifeboat for help and after an hour and three-quarters he was finally caught.
“They had him surrounded but as he was in the water they couldn’t do anything about it. He then swam up through the harbour and under the Town Bridge,” Ros Evans, Portland Coastguard Manager, told the Bournemouth Echo.
“The man managed to involve three emergency services,” added Evans. “It took up a considerable amount of time for the police, lifeboat and ambulance service. That time could have been spent elsewhere.”
After being in the water for over 100 minutes, the man was exhausted and cold and finally came out of the water. He was checked by paramedics and didn’t need to go to hospital.
He is one of three men being questioned about an assault on a 22-year-old man early on Saturday morning. The victim was being treated for his injuries in hospital.
Picture by Eugene Birchall