Firefighters rescue burglar hanging from a building

Liaoning, China: A man suspected of attempted burglary instead found himself relying on the goodwill and professionalism of the authorities for his survival, when he was found hanging from the outside of a building in northeastern China.

Firefighters were called to the scene in Anshan, Liaoning Province, to rescue a man who was clinging for dear life to the apartment building, five stories up.

One rescue worker even had to climb outside with the man to push him back in, while others tried to pull him from the inside.

According to witnesses, the man's presence hanging outside the fifth storey window of an apartment that was not his was suspicious, to say the least.

Fortunately, they had plenty of time to call the police - he wasn't going anywhere.

The man was successfully rescued after about half an hour and was handed over to police immediately afterwards.

Local police said the man intended to break into people's homes from outside the building only to find himself stuck clinging to the wall outside.