Sex attacker on the run from police snared by his twisted ego after boasting to two 12-year-old boys of his fugitive status

Snared by his twisted ego: Fugitive Michael Hartley, a convicted sex attacker, was caught after boasting about how he was on the run from police to two boys

Two 12-year-old boys helped snare an attempted rapist on the run from police after he bragged to the pair of his fugitive status.
Officers finally cornered Michael Hartley, 24, in Edgbaston, Birmingham, after being alerted to him by the pair who had spoken to him outside a nearby youth centre.
Hartley was on West Midlands Police's 'Most Wanted' list for breaking the strict terms of his release after he was freed from a six-year sentence at HMP Birmingham on April 10 this year.
Police had raided several addresses in the West Midlands in an effort to track him down, but finally arrested him on April 20 after the boys pointed him out.
Speaking to the boys in the street outside the youth centre they attend, the sex attacker had boasted to them that he was one of the most wanted criminals in the region - which the quick-thinking youngsters checked online once he had left them.
Realising he was a wanted man, the schoolboys alerted two passing police officers when they spotted Hartley in a nearby park later the same day.
In a desperate bid to escape justice, Hartley jumped into a reservoir but, realising he was surrounded, he gave himself up and was eventually arrested while knee-deep in water.
The two boys are now in line for a bravery award from West Midlands Police. Today one said he felt it was 'rude and nasty' to let an attempted rapist walk the streets.

The boy, who does not want to be named, said: 'He seemed like a nice guy at first.
'But when we saw him again in the park and he was trying to call us over again, we saw the police and said "there's a sex attacker in the park".
'They didn't believe us until we showed them his picture on the police website on my phone.
'I'm not going to let an attempted rapist walk the streets, that's just rude, it's nasty.
'We did the right thing, I'm happy he's in prison.'

Water fool: In a desperate bid to escape justice, Hartley jumped into Edgbaston Reservoir but, realising he was surrounded, he gave himself up and was eventually arrested while knee-deep in water

The other boy said his mother had already warned him that Hartley was on the loose after police told locals to keep an eye out for the fugitive.
'My mum said if we saw him to just run but we saw police,' he said. 'I would do it again because he's a danger to the public.'
Superintendent Joanna Smallwood, from West Midlands Police, paid tribute to the heroic youngsters.
She said: 'Thanks to the fantastic efforts of these two boys, we have arrested a man who was wanted by us for recall to prison.
'It is testament to them that they sought out the nearest police officer, told him their story and gave an excellent descripton of the man so we were able to find him quickly.'
Chris Hoare, leader of the Safe Haven youth club the boys attend in Edgbaston, added: 'Without Safe Haven and the involvement with the police this would never have happened in a million years.
'Because they knew the officers they were able to approach them.
'It's just brilliant. We're all so proud of them.'

Boasts: The street where Hartley spoke to the two boys that reported him to the police. Realising he was a wanted man, the boys alerted police officers when they spotted Hartley in a nearby park later the same day

Hartley, from Coventry, West Midlands, was jailed for six years in 2008 for trying to rape a woman in an alleyway when he was 19-years-old.
He followed his 20-year-old victim as she walked home in Coventry at 2am on December 1, 2006, hid in an alleyway then grabbed her from behind as she walked past.
He only stopped his attack and ran when a nearby resident shouted at him after hearing the woman's screams.
Speaking after he was jailed in 2008, the victim said: 'The incident affected me in every way possible personality-wise.
'I lost my confidence, I've had mental health problems.'

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