Burglar unearthed after hiding in museum exhibit

Jonathan Thacker/Geograph The outside of North Lincolnshire Museum with banners across the upstairs windows and a war memorial in the square outsideJonathan Thacker/Geograph
None of the museum's exhibits was damaged during the alleged break-in, North Lincolnshire Council said

A burglar has been discovered by police hiding in an exhibit after allegedly breaking into a museum.

Officers went to North Lincolnshire Museum in Scunthorpe after an alarm was activated at about 04:00 BST on Friday.

After a two-hour search with a police dog, "a man was located buried away under a very impressive display", according to Humberside Police.

North Lincolnshire Council said it was "not the Night at the Museum we wanted".

A council spokesperson added: "Officers from Humberside Police were quickly on the scene.

"Sadly, they didn’t find Rexy, Dexter and Ben Stiller but did discover a person hiding behind our display on pioneering archaeologist Ethel Hutchinson."

The spokesperson added that none of the museum's artefacts had been damaged and the building on Oswald Road was open as usual.

A 29-year-old man was arrested for burglary, police said.

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