Have a Go Heroes Out in Force

While the police might form the strongest line of defence against crime and theft, they can’t always be first on the scene. Thankfully, for every bad apple in society, there appears to be a dozen more good ones, as the past couple of weeks have shown. On no less than three occasions, an opportunely placed bystander has turned into a have-a-go hero by thwarting attempted robberies – sometimes at risk to their own health.

Charity begins at home

Volunteers who devote their time to working in charity shops are among the most selfless and altruistic members of society. Because of this fact, it rankles even further when such good citizens are taken advantage of by crooks and thieves. Fortunately, on this occasion, justice was upheld as a quick-witted and fleet-footed onlooker was on hand to stop the crime happening.

43-year-old Dennis Tonkin was in the midst of a drinking binge when he ducked into The Mind charity shop on Linthorpe Road in Middlesbrough. Tonkin noticed that the attendant had left her purse on the counter and shamelessly pilfered 162 notes from it before scarpering. However, he didn’t count on the presence of 27-year-old Lewis Farley, who caught up with the bandit and managed to restrain him until the rozzers arrived on the scene.

The volunteer got her purse back, Tonkin got 20 weeks in the slammer and Farley got a pat on the back from his soon-to-be-wife. “He’s quite a big lad and he held on to him for about 10 minutes before the police arrived,” enthused his fiancé. “I’m absolutely proud of what he did; he was so quick thinking and fast acting.”

Pull the other one

Two years ago, Michael Carless suffered a near-fatal heart attack which led to his hospitalisation and an operation to unblock his arteries. However, that didn’t stop him from giving chase when he noticed 26-year-old Martin Johnson attempting to break into his neighbour’s empty house.

Carless charged out of the house like a bat out of hell, barely waiting for his brother-in-law and his friend to help. Although Johnson was armed with a screwdriver and a hammer, and although the exertion caused Carless to damage his cruciate ligaments, he didn’t stop until he’d flattened the culprit and the long arm of the law was on its way to scoop him up.

“I’m really glad I caught him. He comes from around here so he could have tried to rob other houses in the area,” he explained. “It’s not known for that kind of thing to happen around here really, it’s not that kind of area.”

Stop a little crime, live a lot

An opportunistic thief who tried to rob a purse from an old lady in Aldi found her evil plans scuppered by a local man who cut off her escape, tied her up and waited for the police to dole out justice.

39-year-old Nadia Borcoi from Wolverhampton had asked the helpless old dear if she had any change, but once the granny pulled out her purse, Borcoi snatched it and skedaddled. Luckily, 34-year-old Rick Lea was standing outside the shop at the time and heard her pleas for help. He ran around the other direction to cut off any egress into the car park and apprehended the thief.

“I bundled the woman to the floor and tied her hands behind her back and sat on her. She was quite verbally aggressive towards me. She didn’t speak much English,” said the Knutsford man. “She was trying to accuse the elderly lady saying that she had found the wallet in the toilet. It was quite entertaining really.” Borcoi received 18 weeks in prison to think about what she’d done.

Don’t rely on have-a-go heroes

While these stories do help to remind us of the goodness of humanity, you shouldn’t put your faith in someone being in the right place at the right time when it comes to your own home security. Just as you aren’t at home all of the time, neither can your neighbours be expected to be – which is why a top-of-the-range security system is a must-have in today’s society.

At Blackburn Alarms, we have a whole host of intruder alerts, CCTV security cameras and access control systems to increase safety and give you peace of mind. To find out more about how we can help safeguard your home or workplace, get in touch with us today.