Footage has been shared of the moment a man who was allegedly hiding from police in an attic fell through the ceiling, leaving his leg dangling inches above a waiting officer.
25-year-old Matty Walsh was at a party with some friends when he heard a banging at the door and someone shout ‘police’ – at which point one of the group vanished.
Matty said he had no idea who the man was, how he got there, or where he went when the police knocked on the door in Rochdale, Manchester. But he said police came in and declared they were looking for an alleged suspect – before there was a loud creak from the ceiling.
Suddenly, a hole appeared in the roof and plaster rained down on the police officer as a man’s leg appeared through the ceiling.
Matty, from Rochdale, Manchester, said:
We heard a cracking and the police said, ‘Who’s in the roof?’
The next thing a foot comes in and the plaster comes down and almost hits the copper on the head.
There was no way out and he came down when they went to get him, there was no way out so he just gave up.
We were all having a laugh about it, I don’t know what the coppers thought of it.
As Matty filmed the two officers interviewing a party goer on the sofa on the opposite side of the room, a loud creak can be heard coming from the roof.
Matty, a builder, said he realised what was happening and filmed the incident on May 31 to put on Snapchat.
You can watch the footage here:
A spokesperson for Greater Manchester police confirmed that a man had been arrested at the party following an earlier domestic assault.
They said:
Shortly after 02.00am on Saturday, June 1, officers responded to reports of a domestic assault in Rochdale.
A male was detained at a nearby house in Ennerdale Road and arrested on suspicion of assault and breaching a restraining order.
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Charlie Cocksedge is a journalist and sub-editor at UNILAD. He graduated from the University of Manchester with an MA in Creative Writing, where he learnt how to write in the third person, before getting his NCTJ. His work has also appeared in such places as The Guardian, PN Review and the bin.