'Batman' hands wanted man to police (From Hampshire Chronicle)

'Batman' hands wanted man to police

4:57pm Monday 4th March 2013 in National News © Press Association 2013

A man dressed as Batman walked into a police station in the middle of the night and said "I've caught this one for you" as he handed over a wanted alleged criminal, officers have said.

Police in West Yorkshire said the mystery caped-crusader "then promptly vanished into the night to fight crime and the fear of crime in Bradford".

Officers say they do not know the identity of the man, who was dressed head-to-toe as the comic book hero when he walked into Trafalgar House police station with the 27-year-old wanted man.

The stocky, mystery man was posing as the camp 1960s incarnation of the famous DC Comics character, rather than the dark, black figure familiar to fans of the Tim Burton and Christopher Nolan film versions.

But he left the police station, which is just a short walk from the city centre, without leaving his name.

The man he handed over had been wanted by police in connection with a number of alleged offences. He was later charged with handling stolen goods and fraud-related offences, and will appear before magistrates on Friday. The incident happened in the early hours of February 25.

A spokesman said: "The person who brought the wanted man into the station was dressed in a full Batman outfit. His identity, however, remains unknown." The mystery was announced by the neighbourhood police team for the Buttershaw area of Bradford on their Facebook page.

A woman who runs a Bradford shop said she might have sold the man his Batman outfit a few days before the incident.

Kathryn Sutcliffe, who runs The Joke Shop in Kirkgate Market, told BBC Radio 5 Live she remembered one customer because he wanted the 1960s Caped Crusader costume rather than the Dark Knight version. She said she only sold a couple of these older outfits every year.

Mrs Sutcliffe said: "He was quite a large guy and when I saw him on the CCTV I thought, 'he looks like a similar build'. I was quite busy at the time. I took it out, tried it against him and he said, 'oh yes, that's fine', and then he disappeared just as quick. He was in his 20s, dark brown hair, a bit of stubble and quite a nice-looking lad, really." She said the man paid with a credit card, so she has a name, but she refused to reveal it.