A suspected burglar found himself in a tight spot when he got stuck in a chicken shop’s extractor fan for seven hours during a bungled break-in attempt.

Police snapped a photo of the scene which showed the man’s legs, clad in jeans and black socks, poking out of the side of the DFC Chicken building.

After getting trapped at 2am, the hapless suspect had to shout at passers-by in Rookery Road, Birmingham, for help.

One eventually called the police at 8.20am, and he was finally released by firefighters just before 9am.

Response officer PC Matthew Willocks, who took the photo, said: “The extractor unit had been removed and the suspect had climbed in to the extractor outlet at around 2am.

"He was completely stuck and couldn’t move at all.

“The fire brigade had to come in and use the jaws of life to pull back all the extractor casing to release him.”

The force’s chief constable, David Thompson, re-tweeted the photograph, adding: “Most excellent.”

The 45-year-old man was taken to hospital for a check-up and has been arrested on suspicion of burglary.