A Swieqi resident doubled as an investigator yesterday when he chased after a thief who had broken into a neighbour’s house, snapping photos before attempting to apprehend him.

He may not have succeeded in catching him, but with clear photos of the culprit – which he posted on the residents’ Facebook page – police are investigating and residents are on the alert if the man dares set foot in Swieqi again.

Residents in the locality have become extremely vigilant as they feel constantly under siege from unruly students, clubbers descending on Paceville and criminals. The burglary rate alone is five times the national average.

The 28-year-old man, who did not wish to be named, recounted how he was with a lift technician in his apartment block in Triq il-Keffa at about 9am when he heard a woman from across the road screaming.

The woman, 27, told The Sunday Times of Malta, how her mother, 65, who lived below her, had popped by quickly to speak to her, leaving the front door ajar. In the few minutes she was gone, the door slammed shut. Assuming it was the wind, she let her mother through the interconnecting garage and waited outside.

“When she reached the bedroom I heard her shouting and the next thing I saw was this man tussling with my mother and punching her in the face as she tried to stop him from escaping,” she said.

The thief, who was muttering in a foreign language, flung open the front door and pushed the young woman to the ground as she screamed for help and struggled to cling on to his legs.

The next thing I saw was this man tussling with my mother and punching her in the face as she tried to stop him from escaping

That was when her neighbour sprang into action. “I poked my head out of the front door and saw this woman kicking and pulling at this man’s T-shirt,” he said.

At first he thought it was some personal dispute but he then realised the woman was in a panic and was shouting that the man had broken into her house. “The man started jogging down the road to escape the scene and that’s when I decided to follow him,” he said.

As he gave chase, the thief unknowingly took a turning into a dead end and realising he was being followed he ran into the garage complex of another apartment block.

In the meantime, the resident called his cousin for back-up until the police arrived on the scene.

The thief then popped out of an apartment and tried to make a dash for it.

“That was when we tried to confront the thief. I managed to grab him by his hands, but they were sweaty and he managed to slip away.

“And I guess it paid off to a certain extent. Throughout, the man kept one hand behind his back as if he was reaching for something, maybe a weapon, but we will never know,” the resident said.

The two young men still chased after him. At one point it seemed as if the thief was about to jump into a stationary green car but then had a change of heart and kept running.

While all four Swieqi residents were recovering from shock, none of them were badly injured, and the only thing the thief managed to steal before being startled was a costume jewellery ring.

The young woman said her mother later found the thief’s backpack in the bedroom – it contained two screwdrivers, a towel, a bottle of water and cigarette filters.

This, together with the photos, have been handed over to the police, who are on the lookout.