British policemen catch escaping jewellery thief
‘Heroes’ on holiday
The instinct of two British policemen on holiday kicked in when they heard a high-pitched scream coming from Sterling Jewellers in Sliema and saw a man running away scattering expensive rings in his wake.
North Yorkshire police officer Rick Harper and his friend Darrin Gordon, who were strolling up Tower Road, immediately gave chase and caught the robber, immobilising him by holding his wrists in a “painful gooseneck brace”.
They marched the man back to the shop and returned the stolen jewellery, some of which they picked up from the street.
The Maltese police were yesterday questioning two men about the incident, a Maltese and a Russian.
They confirmed that one of them, the Russian, ran away from the shop before being caught. They said the other was inside at the time of the robbery but they had not yet established if he was connected to the crime.
The incident happened at around 10.40 a.m. when a man entered the jeweller’s and helped himself to several items. A salesgirl was heard screaming and the thief ran off in the direction of the Ferries.
The scream alerted Mr Harper and Mr Gordon. “My instinct took over – the girl was screaming and he was running so we knew something was wrong,” Mr Harper told The Times.
He said he saw the man trying to empty a shoulder bag as he ran, perhaps thinking they would give up the chase.
“When we caught him, I immobilised him and took him back to the jeweller’s,” Mr Harper said.
As they walked the robber to the shop they picked up the jewellery they found on the ground and waited for the police to arrive, five minutes later.
Mr Harper described the man as tall, with black hair and beard, wearing dark clothes and flip-flops. “He spoke to us in English and asked us to let him go but obviously we didn’t.” He said the stolen jewellery easily ran into thousands of euro as the man’s bag contained about 16 rings and a tray of gold necklaces and bracelets.
Shopkeepers and passers-by stopped to stare at the two men. “No one tried to help us or told us anything but we heard someone shout out ‘hero’ when we were leaving,” he said.