This time of year children in certain parts of the world are told stories about a mystical man who delivers presents to all the good boys and girls. For those houses with chimney, Father Christmas (or Santa Claus or St. Nicholas, whichever is the custom) is said to descend into the house from his reindeer-drawn sleigh via the chimney. For one bungling burglar (or at least a suspect burglar) the route taken by Santa didn’t prove such a good idea.
According to local newspaper, The Fresno Bee, a man was found to have died inside a chimney of a family home in Huron, Fresno County, California, U.S. The cause of death was the result of the unsuspecting homeowner having lit a fire. As to why the man was in the chimney in the first place, the only likely explanation at this stage is that he was committing a burglary and decided inching down a narrow brickwork tunnel was a good way to break in.
Shortly after lighting the fire, the family hear screams and they realized these were emanating from above the hearth, inside the chimney. The family extinguished the fire and called the local police. To access the chimney the police and fire service needed to smash the chimney, using jackhammers. When the man was recovered, he was pronounced dead at the scene.
The man’s identity has yet to be released. The family’s home suffered from smoke damage, in addition to the damage resulting from the broken chimney bricks.
These kind of antics might become more common. In the U.K., The Daily Mail reports about teenage robber Frank Barrow, who hid up a chimney to evade police. Although he waited for several hours in his brick hide-out, Barrow was nabbed by police when he emerged.
