A have-a-go hero wrestled a suspected shoplifter to the ground and held him there until police arrived.
Tony Moss, 44, had only popped into the Boots store in Accrington’s Arndale Centre for a toothbrush but sprang into action when he saw what he believed was a man shoplifting.
The dad-of-one, from Accrington, said: “It was just instinct. I dived on him, rugby tackled him and pinned him down until the police came.
“I had hold of him for about 10 minutes but it seemed like a lifetime and it was a relief when I heard the police sirens.
“It was all quite surreal when I thought about it afterwards.”
The former Hollins Technology College student, who works as a warehouse operative in Burnley, runs to keep fit and has trained in self-defence and kickboxing.
He said: “I’m six feet two and quite athletic but I was still a bit in shock at what I had done afterwards.
“I was thinking ‘what do I do if he swings a punch at me’ but I thought I’d be entitled to defend myself if he did. I just said to him ‘you’re going nowhere mate’ and held onto him.”
The brave dad was left with a cut on his knee for his trouble but said the adrenalin just took over and he acted without thinking.
A Lancashire police spokesperson said: “At around 5pm on Monday, October 31, a member of the public came into the police station in Accrington and said another member of the public had detained someone outside the Boots in Accrington’s Arndale Centre in a citizen’s arrest.”
A man has been charged with theft.