A criminal was caught when he was admitted to hospital and given a bed next to a police officer who had been hunting him.

The burglar, named only as Uwe G, 41, for legal reasons, was admitted to the St Josef hospital in the German city of Beuel with appendicitis .

After his operation, he was given a bed next to police officer Walter H who was recovering from a gall bladder operation.

The policeman who had been part of a team investigating him for a string of robberies recognised him immediately and called his colleagues.

"I had been trying to nail him for more than two months, but he kept managing to escape. It made me feel a whole lot better when I turned round and saw he was lying next to me," said the officer.

The burglar has now been transferred to a secure hospital and faces six months in jail once he has recovered from his operation.source

...That has to suck! 2 months of escaping all brought down in a stroke of chance.

Saved the detective having to search around for the suspect. Talk about chance.

Too funny!! hahaha... Imagin the shock of that cop turning over, and looking into the face of the criminal...**Cracks up**

I would have loved to be a mouse in the corner when the criminal realized the guy in the next bed was the detective who was after him!

HA! The cop should say it was all part of his master plan and that finding him in the hospital was what he intended to do!

haha sucks to be that crook