So much for the getaway.

An car-thief’s plan was foiled Thursday in Ghent — by the car itself. The car the 22-year old thief was attempting to steal suddenly caught fire — presumably in the thief’s attempt to jump-start the vehicle without keys — preventing him from completing his crime. Witnesses spotted the suspect, who was quickly arrested and is being held for interrogation.

Frites for everyone.

A typical Belgian consumes 75kg (165 pounds) of frites every year. With 5,000 frites stands across a country of 10 million residents, there are 11 times as many stands per capita as there are McDonald’s for Americans. Those statistics — along with the fact a yearlong “Frites School” has been established in Leuven to properly train potential Frites-makers — were revealed in a recent story published by yahoo.com documenting Belgium’s love affair with the fried potato.

Can't teach this pet to sit.

Local and federal police raided an apartment in Beringen, Limburg province, and seized more than 30 live snakes, as well as rodents used for feeding. The owners had several varieties of snakes, including a boa constrictor measuring three metres long. Neighbors had complained to police about an odor coming from the apartment. All the creatures seized in the raid were taken to a nearby nature center.

Got milk?

The authorities at the City General Hospital in Aalst have apologised to “all mothers” after an emergency room doctor last week called the police in to deal with a woman who was breast-feeding in the corridor while awaiting treatment. The woman, Astrid Janssens, is coordinator of an organisation that advocates free and open breastfeeding. After the incident, she said one policeman told her breastfeeding in public was illegal in Belgium – which is not the case. The hospital management said they did not support the doctor’s actions, and apologised “to all mothers who want the best for their child”.

Bummin' it.

A race for hitchhiking students between Ghent and Barcelona was won last week by a young Belgian couple dressed in wedding clothes. Bert Schelfhout, 26, from Deerlijk and Naïma Vande Walle, 22, from Aalter met two years ago while taking part in another hitchhiking race. The couple wins 40,000 free air kilometres, and plan to visit Australia and New Zealand.