A handcuffed man had to be rescued by fire crews on a boat after jumping into a canal when police tried to detain him. The drama unfolded in Manchester's Gay Village late on Friday night.
Police said they arrested a man after he was found to be in possession of a "significant quantity" of drugs. However he managed to free himself and in a desperate attempt to evade officers he then jumped into the Rochdale Canal on Canal Street.
That sparked a huge emergency service response with paramedics and firefighters including the fire service's specialist water rescue unit being dispatched.
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Canal Street was taped off as crews inflated a boat which was then launched into the water. A dripping wet man, who eyewitnesses said was still wearing handcuffs, was then rescued from the water around 1:30am in the early hours of this morning, two hours following his initial arrest.
Greater Manchester Police (GMP) said he was further arrested for escaping lawful custody before he was taken to hospital, where he remains this morning.
Ben Jones, 28, from Accrington in Lancashire told the Manchester Evening News he was driving home from work when he saw a man wearing handcuffs come running past him and jump into the canal. He said around 20 officers came running after him on foot.
"It was a bit of a shock, so I pulled over and went to have a look," Ben said. "There were so many police for one person. Straight away they realised they wouldn't be able to get to him though" he said. "So they just watched and waited for the fire service to arrive.
"I couldn't really see exactly where the man was or what he was doing. But I was a bit concerned as he wouldn't have been able to properly swim like that. And it was pretty cold last night as well.
"More police started to arrive and then the fire service about ten minutes later. They got a boat out onto the water. They eventually brought him back on the boat. He was soaking wet and they put him in a police van at first until an ambulance turned up and then he got into the back of that."
A GMP spokesperson said: "At 11.30pm last night, Friday 1 July, police arrested a 22-year-old man on Canal Street in the City Centre, after he was found to be in possession of a significant quantity of suspected Class A and B drugs.
"The man has then proceeded to jump into the nearby canal in an attempt to escape police.
"Emergency services including North West Ambulance (NWAS) and Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service (GMFRS) attended the scene and the male agreed to exit the canal at around 1.30am, where he was further arrested for escaping lawful custody.
"He was taken to hospital where he remains this morning."
A GMFRS spokesperson said: “At approximately 12am this morning, Saturday, July 2, we assisted colleagues from Greater Manchester Police and North West Ambulance Service with an incident at Canal Street in Manchester City Centre.
“Two fire engines from Moss Side and Manchester Central, a technical response unit from Ashton-under-Lyne and a water unit from Eccles quickly attended the scene and rescued one man from the canal.
“Firefighters were detained for approximately three hours.”
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