Diner has to be rescued from roof after he does a runner from Chinese restaurant where he refused to pay £97 bill
- Two men were asked to pay and leave Worthing's China Palace last night
- Staff said the 'rowdy' men had upset customers but said they couldn't pay
- One man fled to first-floor balcony where he stayed for nearly 90 minutes
- Police negotiator attempted to talk man down while firefighters watched
- Two men, aged 40 and 43, have been arrested and are being questioned
By HARRIET ARKELL PUBLISHED: 14:24 GMT, 10 January 2014 | UPDATED: 14:39 GMT, 10 January 2014
A man who tried to flee a Chinese restaurant without paying had to be helped down from a flat roof by emergency services after he got stuck trying to escape out of a balcony.The drama unfolded in Worthing, West Sussex, last night after two men were asked to pay their bill and leave a Chinese restaurant after staff decided they were being rowdy and upsetting other customers. Both fled, but one of them got stuck on a flat roof overlooking the street, where he remained for an hour and a half until he was persuaded to come down a fireman's ladder in exchange for a cigarette.
A police negotiator talked a man down from a roof in Worthing after he tried to flee a restaurant without paying
Police officers spent nearly an hour and a half talking the man down before they could arrest him
The man is said to have enjoyed an 'all you can eat' buffet at Worthing's China Palace before fleeing outside
The unnamed man and his friend had enjoyed an evening at the China Palace restaurant in the town's South Street, but were asked to pay their bill and leave after they became noisy. A source at the restaurant told MailOnline the two men had the £15.80 per head 'all you can eat' buffet menu, and ordered beers costing around £60.He said: 'They were disturbing our customers so we gave them their bill, which was nearly £97, and asked them to pay and leave.
'They said they hadn't got a way to pay and they tried to run away. We stopped them getting out of the front door, so they ran outside onto the balcony.'A Sussex police spokesman said: 'Police were called to the China Palace Restaurant at 7.45pm after staff reported that two men were behaving in a drunken manner and had refused to settle their bill for food and drink.'Both men climbed from a first-floor balcony onto an adjacent building. One then returned to the restaurant, but the other remained on a rooftop for almost an hour and a half before he, too, returned. Firefighters stood by during the incident.'
All over: The man was eventually lured down a fireman's ladder with the promise of a cigarette
Police cars and two fire engines attended outside the first floor restaurant, the balcony of which is lit up
Diners at the Chinese restaurant peer from its balcony as last night's stand-off continued
A passer-by, part of a crowd of around 50 people who gathered to see what would happen, said the man appeared calm as he spoke to a police negotiator.
He said: 'There were four police cars, one police negotiator and several other police officers, as well as two fire engines, one with a ladder and turntable, and firefighters.'They spent ages trying to talk the man down but he wasn't having any of it.
The police were thinking about climbing up and arresting him on the balcony but decided it was too dangerous.'Everyone was trying to get him down - one taxi driver stopped and offered him a bottle of wine if he climbed down, but he wouldn't.'Eventually they said if he came down he could have a cigarette before they took him to the police station, and that did the trick.'
A 43-year-old man from Shoreham and a 40-year-old man of no fixed address have been arrested on suspicion of making off without payment and both have been detained for questioning.'
A man who tried to flee a Chinese restaurant without paying had to be helped down from a flat roof by emergency services after he got stuck trying to escape out of a balcony.The drama unfolded in Worthing, West Sussex, last night after two men were asked to pay their bill and leave a Chinese restaurant after staff decided they were being rowdy and upsetting other customers. Both fled, but one of them got stuck on a flat roof overlooking the street, where he remained for an hour and a half until he was persuaded to come down a fireman's ladder in exchange for a cigarette.
A police negotiator talked a man down from a roof in Worthing after he tried to flee a restaurant without paying
Police officers spent nearly an hour and a half talking the man down before they could arrest him
The man is said to have enjoyed an 'all you can eat' buffet at Worthing's China Palace before fleeing outside
The unnamed man and his friend had enjoyed an evening at the China Palace restaurant in the town's South Street, but were asked to pay their bill and leave after they became noisy. A source at the restaurant told MailOnline the two men had the £15.80 per head 'all you can eat' buffet menu, and ordered beers costing around £60.He said: 'They were disturbing our customers so we gave them their bill, which was nearly £97, and asked them to pay and leave.
'They said they hadn't got a way to pay and they tried to run away. We stopped them getting out of the front door, so they ran outside onto the balcony.'A Sussex police spokesman said: 'Police were called to the China Palace Restaurant at 7.45pm after staff reported that two men were behaving in a drunken manner and had refused to settle their bill for food and drink.'Both men climbed from a first-floor balcony onto an adjacent building. One then returned to the restaurant, but the other remained on a rooftop for almost an hour and a half before he, too, returned. Firefighters stood by during the incident.'
All over: The man was eventually lured down a fireman's ladder with the promise of a cigarette
Police cars and two fire engines attended outside the first floor restaurant, the balcony of which is lit up
Diners at the Chinese restaurant peer from its balcony as last night's stand-off continued
A passer-by, part of a crowd of around 50 people who gathered to see what would happen, said the man appeared calm as he spoke to a police negotiator.
He said: 'There were four police cars, one police negotiator and several other police officers, as well as two fire engines, one with a ladder and turntable, and firefighters.'They spent ages trying to talk the man down but he wasn't having any of it.
The police were thinking about climbing up and arresting him on the balcony but decided it was too dangerous.'Everyone was trying to get him down - one taxi driver stopped and offered him a bottle of wine if he climbed down, but he wouldn't.'Eventually they said if he came down he could have a cigarette before they took him to the police station, and that did the trick.'
A 43-year-old man from Shoreham and a 40-year-old man of no fixed address have been arrested on suspicion of making off without payment and both have been detained for questioning.'
