A HAVE-A-GO hero who caught a mugger making off with thousands of pounds meant for staff wages said he “did not even consider” the thief might be armed.
Robber Khalid Bashier, 20, was spotted by postmen Lee Spalding and Tom Bardon as he and an unnamed accomplice tried to snatch around £40,000 in two plastic bags from a pensioner and his assistant.
On Friday, Bashier, of Sidmouth Road, Hendon, was jailed for three years for the attempted robbery, which the judge described as “planned”.
The incident happened just after 1pm on November 26 last year as the 70-year-old man and his associate, a 47-year-old woman, were withdrawing a large sum of cash from the bank.
They walked back along Vivian Avenue, Hendon, but were approached from behind by the thieves who grabbed at the carrier bags full of cash.
The accomplice tried to wrestle the bag from the pensioner, knocking him to the floor face first, and ended up sprawling backwards through a plate-glass window, before recovering and running off.
Bashier went for the woman’s bag, but she refused to let go and was knocked face-first onto the pathway before he eventually got it from her grasp.
Her cries alerted the two postmen who dashed across the road and chased Bashier, who ran down a side-street, and tackled him, restraining him until police arrived a few minutes later.
Mr Spalding told the Times Series: “I really didn’t think about whether he had a weapon or anything like that, I just saw what was happening to the woman and knew I had to do something.
“We ran across the road, through the traffic which was pretty busy and just chased as fast as we could and caught him. He was pretty quiet, I think he knew he was banged to rights.
“The first thing my wife said to me was ‘what if he had a knife?’, but as I said it was just instinct. Not enough people step in to help others in need.”
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here