'Home Alone burglars' in Stoke-on-Trent get bum deal

The hapless Home Alone burglars have been on the mind of Staffordshire Police

Two burglars hit a bum note when one sat on his phone and accidentally dialled 999 mid-crime, police said.

In a new twist on the pocket dial, the "cheeky" intervention meant arrests quickly followed.

It was enough to see one top officer make a comparison to the hapless burgling duo in the film Home Alone.

But rather than being thwarted at the pad of forgotten-about moppet Kevin McCallister, this drama unfolded in Stoke-on-Trent.

In the 1990 Christmas classic, enterprising Kevin - played by Macaulay Culkin - used heated doorknobs and toy cars to halt a home invasion. In Stoke, it only needed a backside in the wrong place at the wrong time.

The "world's unluckiest burglars" was how Ch Insp John Owen described things on Twitter after the bottom fell out of plans.

He said police received the unusual call and heard "all of their antics up to the point of hearing our patrols arrive to arrest them".

Two men aged 49 and 42 were taken into custody by officers on Wednesday night.

In a tweet, Ch Insp Owen added a Home Alone GIF to make his point and Twitter users were quick to agree with the comparison.

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But it was the body part behind it all that drew the most comment.

One wrote "it's a bum rap" while another concluded "what an ass".