ON-THE-RUN Nell Thygesen must have known his luck had run out when he walked into a pub to discover a group of off-duty police officers at a party.

Middlesbrough's most-wanted man had evaded capture for two years by moving around the North-East without leaving a trail, and ensuring those who knew him kept quiet.

Police traced former partners, friends, associates and relatives, but they all claimed not to know where the ex-used car dealer was in hiding.

Thygesen did not have a job, claim benefits, or appear on the electoral register. He had no credit cards or loans and did not rent a home or run a car in his name.

In effect, he was invisible.

He was also well-connected in the criminal world - connections that would help him stay at large and thwart police attempts to find him.

But the man who made it his mission to find justice for Liam Thompson and Rebecca Harper, Acting Sergeant Vas Khan, refused to give up, and yesterday saw his work rewarded.

Acting Sgt Khan, who worked on his days off to investigate Thygesen's previous case in North Yorkshire. learned that he may have fled to Cyprus and also to London.

The officer also discovered the type of person Thygesen was involved with, and believed the threats made to Mr Thompson and his girlfriend might not be idle ones.

Despite his determination and dedication, the investigation was repeatedly running up against brick walls.

But on June 22 last year, Thygesen walked into the Star and Garter, in Middlesbrough town centre, where about a dozen officers had gathered for a leaving party.

One of them, Detective Constable Andrea Murphy-King, had been involved in the investigation from the start.

She could not believe her eyes, telling her male colleagues to guard the door while she approached the bar and the man who had been wanted for almost two years.

"You're Nell, aren't you?" she asked the man as he ordered a drink. "Yeah, what can I do for you, darling?" was the reply.

"Well, you can come with me, because you're under arrest," she replied.

Acting Sgt Khan said: "He was shaking like a leaf and could barely sign his name when he was brought to the police station.

"We had been looking for him for two years and every possible line of inquiry had been followed without any luck.

"It was an exhaustive investigation, but finding him was proving more and more difficult until our luck changed and he walked into our arms."