KINGSBRIDGE Police condemn member of the public who diverted emergency services from a manhunt.

Police were searching the area following a residential burglary in Kingsbridge on Monday, February 29, at around 3pm. A police helicopter attended from Exeter to search for the suspects and saw a man near Bowcombe Bridge waving his arms, jumping up and down and pointing down the road.

The helicopter crew thought he might be trying to direct them towards the suspects or another emergency so they waited and directed a patrol car away from the search to speak to the man.

When ground units spoke to him, he told them he was ‘just having a laugh’. PC Richard Loxton of Kingsbridge Police said: ‘In doing this he took officers away from their actual search and kept the helicopter crew in that area until other officers arrived.

‘What seemed like a laugh to him, possibly let the criminals get away. Well done that man.’

Police are still looking for information on the burglary and are appealing to anyone who was in the Ilton Way area of Kingsbridge at around 3pm, especially if they use a dash-cam in their car, which might have caught the suspects and their number plate.

They were seen in a black or dark-coloured Ford Mondeo, driving off towards Derby Road. This occurred at around pick-up time at the primary school, so there should have been quite a few people around.

If you saw anyone acting suspiciously in the area at that time, contact the police on 101 quoting log 479 of 29.2.16.

Police reinforced their message of making sure you leave your property locked and secure.