Two Chinese master criminals were pursued for three kilometres by 100 cops after rather brilliantly deciding they could do a runner from a Qingdao hotel with 60kg of small change.

According to the Qingdao Morning News, the pair, "sweating profusely", huffed and puffed their way to a cuffing bearing the breathtaking haul of 6,000 yuan (392 quid) in coins, cunningly concealed in sacks.

The Boys in Blue later discovered they'd stashed another 15,000 yuan (£982) back at the hotel. The targeted establishment apparently kept the shrapnel "as change for customers".

Regular readers can see where this plan came unstuck - any self-respecting Brit ne'er-do-well would have used a wheelbarrow for his getaway. This wouldn't actually increase his chances of making good his escape, but would multipy the news comedy value by a factor of around 3.7. ®

The League of Extraordinarily Stupid Criminals

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• US student tries to score dope at cop shop (14 February 2006)
• Drug dealer reports dope theft to cops (3 February 2006)
• Wheelbarrow blagger cuffed after 2mph pursuit (9 September 2005)
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• Police keelhaul world's thickest DVD pirate (8 July 2004)