Hiding in toilets, Swedish burglar calls police for help

A frightened burglar in Sweden called police on Tuesday after hiding in the toilets of a pizzeria to escape the wrath of its owner, police said.

An alarm at the restaurant, in the eastern Swedish city of Uppsala, alerted the owner to the ongoing break-in at around 3:15am (0215 GMT).

"I put on a shirt, trousers and shoes and I ran," the owner, who lived nearby, told the daily Upsala Nya Tidning.

The owner arrived and began fighting with several burglars who were on the premises. Two escaped, but two others ran back into the restaurant and tried to barricade the door against the owner.

One of the men eventually locked himself in the bathroom to escape and called police.

"Police rescued the two men aged 18 and 19 from the owner's fury and arrested them," police spokesman Christer Nordstrom told AFP.

According to the owner, this was the third burglary attempt in two years.