A hapless car thief found himself in handcuffs after enlisting the help of two undercover police officers to try and get a car started.

The officers, who were working as part of an unrelated undercover operation, were only too happy to help out when the thief approached them for a push in St Leonard's Road, Southend.

The pair, both part of the Westcliff-based beat team, rolled up their sleeves and got stuck in - only to realise as they pushed the car that the ignition looked damaged.

A spokesman for Southend police said: "They quickly made some inquiries to find that the car they were helping to push had, in fact, been registered stolen.

"They quickly arrested the stunned driver who until that point had believed himself lucky in finding such obliging members of the public.

"It could have been very embarrassing for the officers had they not realised what they had stumbled onto.

"It certainly wasn't the thief's lucky day."

He was taken to Southend police station where he was questioned.

A man has been charged with taking a car without consent, drink driving and driving without insurance.

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