Suspect stuck after impaling feet

DURBAN , South Africa, Jan. 29 (UPI) -- Police in South Africa said a suspected thief spent hours clinging to a rail after he impaled both his feet on a fence during an attempted getaway.

Authorities said Mthandani Nqetho impaled his feet on the fence's steel spikes while fleeing from guards in the city of Durban Friday night and he was not found until churchgoers spotted him the next morning, the BBC reported Tuesday.

Nqetho was able to free one of his feet on his own, but the other remained impaled until the following morning, when bystanders phoned rescue services.

Captain Greg Bevan said the suspect's wrists were swollen from hanging onto the rail for several hours.

"People in the crowd gave him a cigarette and grapes until the rescue services arrived," he said.

Police spokesman Michael Reed said Nqetho has been charged with robbery and is being guarded at the hospital. He said Nqetho will go before a magistrate as soon as he is healthy enough to walk -- which police estimated at about a week.