Buzz Lightyear helps nab thief

A Buzz Lightyear toy alerted police to a shoplifter hiding in a bridge

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LONDON, England -- It was a case of Buzz Lightyear to the rescue.

A 27-year-old man had stolen the "Toy Story" character from a Woolworth's store and was hiding from police in Hereford, England, when the miniature hostage sounded the alarm.

The battery-operated toy cried "Buzz Lightyear. Permission to engage" as Shaun Anthony Markey hid in the Great Western Way bridge on the south of the city, near the Welsh border.

Officers and a police dog were searching the area and arrested Markey.

Markey, of Old School Lane, Hereford, pleaded guilty at Hereford Magistrates Court on November 15 to stealing the figure a week earlier.

He was due at the same court on Wednesday for sentencing.

The chisel-jawed Buzz Lightyear character, who features in the Disney animated films "Toy Story" and "Toy Story 2," is a "space ranger" who normally protects the galaxy from the Evil Emperor Zurg.

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