Sneeze costs fugitive his freedom

A Polish fugitive led police to a secret hiding place inside his home – when he suddenly sneezed.

Darius Olewski, 49 – on the run for dodging child maintenance payments – had dug a six feet deep hole under a table in his hall in Pruszkow.

He covered it with a panel he’d crafted to match the rest of the wooden floor and leapt down there whenever police came looking for him.

But he was caught when officers raiding the apparently empty home heard a stifled sneeze.

“At first we couldn’t work out where it came from,” said one officer.

“Then we heard another one and realised it was coming from right under our feet.

“After a bit of tapping and testing we found a hollow spot and he was down there covered in cobwebs.

“Maybe if he’d dusted more often he’d still be on the run,” he added.