A SUSPECTED burglar has been arrested after throwing himself into a lake in Dudley to evade police.

The 36-year-old was wanted over a burglary spree and officers found him hiding on an island in the middle of the Donkey Pools, just off the Birmingham New Road yesterday morning (June 18).

The man was taken to hospital suffering from hypothermia but was later arrested for questioning in connection with nine burglaries in Dudley and Birmingham.

He remains in police custody on suspicion of dangerous driving, car theft and three burglaries in the early hours of Tuesday morning − one in Sovereign Way, Moseley, in Birmingham and two in Oldbury’s Walton Road.

West Midlands Police detectives are also questioning the man, from Dudley, on suspicion of committing five other burglaries between December 27 2018 and June 13.

The suspect came to the police's attention just before 3am on Tuesday when night shift cops spotted a stolen VW Polo speeding along the Birmingham New Road.

Police pursued the car for around six minutes − at one stage travelling at 75mph on the wrong side of a dual carriageway − before its tyres were ‘stung’ by police and the driver made off in Priory Road.

Officers chased the man through undergrowth and contained the pond edge while fire crews arrived with a dinghy and night-vision cameras.

The suspect was found hunkered down in bushes around 90 minutes later and was treated at the water’s edge by paramedics before being transferred to hospital.

West Midlands Police Sergeant Leighton Shingles, said: “This was a great spot by patrol officers and, with the help of our fire service colleagues, we were able to bring the suspect back from the island he’d marooned himself on.

“He was soaking wet and clearly suffering from hypothermia having leapt into the water and swam out to the island. There was nowhere for him to go and it was only a matter of time before he was in police custody.

“This is a significant arrest for us: the man is wanted over a series of burglaries, including ones where high-value cars were stolen."