Thief asks police to save him from watchman

Courtey of

WARSAW - A Polish burglar had to ask the police to save him after an axe-wielding night watchman attacked and chased him until he crashed his vehicle.

The watchman in the western city of Katowice took the 25-year-old burglar by surprise after he had broken into a house, hitting him three times in the head with the blunt end of an axe, cracking his skull, Polish media reported Thursday.

"The dizzy burglar fled to his automobile and managed to lock the door and start the engine," a police spokesman told PAP news agency.

The watchman gave chase, shattered the driver-side window and yanked the steering wheel, sending the van, which was starting to accelerate, into a mound of dirt.

Trapped, the burglar phoned police for help.

A court will now determine whether the watchman's actions went beyond self-defense and constituted a crime, PAP said.

The burglar's head injuries were not life threatening. He faces 10 years in jail for breaking and entering, while the watchman could face eight years in jail if charged with fighting with a deadly weapon.