Published at 10:58, Tuesday, 15 March 2011

A suspected shoplifter was bitten in the groin by a police dog after a one-hour chase through Cockermouth town centre yesterday afternoon.

Police were called to the scene after two men were seen taking items from the frozen section of the town’s Sainsbury’s store at 2pm.

It was also reported by the store’s security officer that one of the men was carrying a knife.

The men left the store and headed towards Lowther Went. On Main Street police officers caught up with one of the suspected offenders, a 36-year-old man from Workington, who was found with a bag of shopping which had allegedly been stolen from the supermarket.

But the other man, a 28-year-old from Cockermouth, ran away from officers.

Because there had been reports that the man was armed with a knife, a police dog handler was brought in to assist in the manhunt.

After an hour’s chase through the town centre, the man was cornered by the police dog handler near to Aldi on Low Road.

After warnings from the police dog handler for the suspect to give himself up, the man refused, so the police dog was sent in to apprehend him.

The dog bit the man in the groin area and a black bin bag was recovered with the suspected stolen items from Sainsbury’s.

Two men, who were arrested on suspicion of shoplifting, were taken to Workington police station where they were still being questioned by detectives this morning.

A police spokesman said: “The first man was stopped near to Sainsbury’s on Main Street and was caught with a bag of shopping but it was believed that the other male had the knife and was still on the loose.

“An hour later the police were still searching for the second suspect who had ran off towards Aldi and a police dog handler attended.

“The man didn’t listen to the warnings of the dog handler and almost ran into the police dog.

"The dog apprehended him by biting him in the groin area and a black bin bag was discovered with Sainsbury’s items in it.”

Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk