Householder holds thief's arm until help arrives
A crook who was caught trying to break into a house on Hartswood Road got more than he bargained for when the surprised owner grabbed the burglar’s arm from inside and refused to let go. The suspect, a young man who we can’t name for legal reasons, was caught red handed as he reached through the letterbox.
The heroic actions of the resident, who wishes to remain anonymous, were only matched by brave parks constable Andrew Baker who then snared the suspect and held him until the police turned up.
Andrew takes up the story, “I heard a man shouting for help and when I ran over I found this guy with his hand stuffed through the letterbox, being held from inside. We’re trained to deal with confrontational situations so I was able to restrain the man until police arrived.”
The alleged incident occurred early in the morning last Thursday 7 September when the brazen thug attempted to break into the house by reaching through the letterbox – a crime which is on the increase.
Parks constabulary Inspector Stan Davies said Constable Baker’s quick action deserved special praise. “Helping residents and thinking and acting quickly is all part of the job. We’re proud of the way Andrew responded in delivering this criminal to the police.”
Cllr Greg Smith, Hammersmith and Fulham Council cabinet member for crime & anti-social behaviour, said, “To make our streets safe we must be tough with the criminal and anti-social minority who terrorise the hard working majority. This was a first class result and thanks to the brave actions of both the home owner and parks constable another criminal will have his day in court. Unfortunately crimes like this are all too common and we are working with the police to crank up the zero tolerance stance in the borough.”
September 16, 2006
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