British police officer chases himself for 20 minutes

A U.K. police officer is giving his colleagues a reason to laugh after he accidentally chased himself thinking he was the burglar.

The junior bobby, who isn't being named, was working undercover in a burglary hotspot when a CCTV operator told him a man was "acting suspiciously" in the area, reports the Herald Sun.

The operator directed the officer to the suspect's location and even told the cop he was "hot on his heels," reports the Telegraph.

"Every time the man darted into an alleyway, the PC was turning into the same alleyway but there was no trace," said an office in a Police One article.

What the operator didn't realize was the officer and the suspect he was chasing were the same person. This went on for about 20 minutes. It may have continued if a sergeant didn't come into the CCTV control room, recognize the suspect and burst out laughing hysterically at the mix-up.

The details were leaked to Police Federation magazine Police by a senior officer who witnessed the incident. According to the monthly magazine, a keen officer, who was always looking for undercover work, was in a market in the town of Sussex when a report came through of a male on one of the side roads.

"The CCTV operator soon had the suspect on camera and everywhere he saw the male the keen PC was on his heels - radioing in to say he was on the same street," reads the magazine.

It was then the sergeant entered the room and although he was aching from laughter, he managed to tell the bobby they operator was actually watching him.

"We've had a couple of funnies lately, but all taken in good spirit," said a source to the Telegraph.

"Policing is often serious business, so we all enjoy moments of light relief," said a spokesman for the force, who could not provide any more details on the incident. "This story was shared anonymously with the Police Federation magazine, so unfortunately without the date or location, confirming the details and locating the officer is harder for us than it was for the CCTV operator."

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