Residents of a normally quiet area of County Durham have been left shocked, after a man decided to go for a run this month - sporting nothing but a pair of trainers.
Annfield Plain's answer to Linford Christie' decided to go on a late evening jog just before 9pm on March 16, leaving many in the local area baffled by his choice of attire - or lack of. The man was spotted on Durham Road in Annfield Plain completely naked minus a pair of sporty running shoes, before darting off into the night down a side street.
Paul Hurst, who lives nearby, was one passing member of the public who got more than he bargained for when walking to the bus stop to catch a ride to work. Speaking to Chronicle Live, the 44-year-old said: "I'd left home to go to work, and I was going for the bus when I was confronted by Annfield Plain's answer to Linford Christie, but not a stitch on him.
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"It sort of took me back a little bit, then he ran into one of the side streets of Durham Road.
"I pointed at him and went 'what the...' and he just said 'hiya'. He was quite straight-faced, as if he was out for a nice little jog around the block."
He added: "An old guy stopped on his bike afterwards and turned round. He said 'did you just see what I saw? Was that a naked man running through Annfield Plain?' so I said 'yep, it definitely was, I thought I was going off my head'.
Paul was not alone in his viewing on the night itself, with other people reporting sightings of the starkers runner on social media. He added: "It is out there like, it caused quite the sensation because when I posted on Instagram, a lass that I know commented and she had thought that she was seeing things as she picked her kids up from the youth club.
"This was nine o'clock at night, there was quite a few people about in cars. But he just had a pair of trainers on and he was going for it.
"He looked like he'd prepared for it, not a stitch on. It was quite intimidating seeing a naked gentleman coming towards you at speed, it's not what you'd expect."
He continued: "I crossed the road, I thought 'I don't know what your game is but I don't want to be part of it'. Then he ducked down the side street and kind of carried on from what I've seen on social media to Stanley.
"From where I saw him, he's got to have done a four or five mile round-trip."
Durham Constabulary have since confirmed that they received reports of the incident taking place, but have not identified the man. A spokesman for Durham Constabulary said: “Shortly before 9pm on Wednesday, May 16, police received a number of calls reporting sightings of a naked man running alongside the road between New Kyo and Stanley.
“Officers attended the scene and carried out a search in the Oxhill area, where the last sighting of the man was reported, but there was no sign of the suspect”.
