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(Image: CEN)

The man failed to notice the gaping hole in the ground while he sneaked around in the dark.

He is said to have then plunged into the smelly swamp of excrement below - almost drowning in the process.

The unnamed thief managed to cling on to the side of the sewer wall to stop himself from drowning, where he stayed calling for help for over two hours.

(Image: CEN)

The cries of the man from Boluo County in Huizhou, a city in South China's Guangdong Province, were finally heard at around 1am by a passer-by, who called police to the scene.

Authorities found the thief two metres below ground, holding on for dear life for fear of falling into the dirty water below.

Reports said the man begged to be rescued, saying that the sewer was "smelly and disgusting".

Firefighters extended a six-metre ladder into the sewage entrance and eventually helped the would-be thief climb to safety.

The unfortunate man admitted to officers that he was at the construction site to steal some expensive equipment but authorities took pity on him and drove him to a hospital to get a check-up first.

Reports said the thief suffered no major injuries.