A FATHER-OF-THREE chased and captured a suspected burglar in his dressing gown and wife's shoes - only for the man to telephone the police and say he was being held against his will.

Shaun Beaumont disturbed the man outside his house and immediately gave chase.

But when he finally caught up with the runaway, he was shocked to see him phone the police.

The 39-year-old said the man even offered him cash and a mobile phone to let him go.

Mr Beaumont, of West View Road, Hartlepool, said: "If I hadn''t been there and I had just heard the story from someone else, I wouldn't have believed it."

Mr Beaumont said he had gone outside to lock his garage door when he spotted the man rifling through the garage's contents.

He chased him for 100 yards wearing nothing but a pair of shorts, his dressing gown and his wife's slip-on shoes.

When the man reached into his pocket, Mr Beaumont, 39, said he was prepared for the worst and thought the intruder was going to produce a weapon.

But to his relief, the man brought out a mobile phone and dialled 999 - telling police he was being held against his will.

Mr Beaumont said: "He told the police operator This lad's got hold of me and he won't let me go'. I couldn't hear what the operator said, but they obviously asked him why and he said I was breaking into his garage and now he won't let me go'.

"I was actually trying not to laugh in the end."

Moments later, Mr Beaumont said two other men appeared on the scene saying that they would give him back goods taken from his garage if he promised to let go of their friend.

Mr Beaumont agreed and the two men said they would hand over two bikes, a £250 set of golf clubs and two toolboxes.

"The police turned up with a van and started questioning this lad," said Mr Beaumont, who works for Hartlepool firm TMD Friction.

"Then the two lads came back with all the gear thinking their bargain still stood, but they didn't realise they were implicating themselves and all three of them ended up getting arrested.

So it wasn't a bad result."

A Cleveland Police spokesperson confirmed that three arrests were made shortly after midnight on Sunday. Two of the men were bailed to return to the police station on January 15. No further action was taken against the third