Shopper, 79, praised after chasing armed robber

David Dwelly says he had acted on instinct

A pensioner has spoken for the first time about chasing down and confronting an armed robber who then pulled a knife on him.

Wayne Haywood visited Lidl in Sandiacre, Derbyshire, eight days into a crime spree targeting supermarkets and corner shops in the county in July 2023.

But when he tried to leave Sandiacre’s Lidl store with a bag of shopping he hadn’t paid for, he hadn’t bargained on 79-year-old shopper David Dwelly, who was visiting the store with his wife Linda.

Mr Dwelly has now been named as a finalist in the Bravery category of BBC Radio Derby’s Make A Difference awards for his actions.

He said: “Linda and I were choosing three lovely carnation plants which were on display outside of the superstore. We’d just got the three plants into the shopping trolley, all of a sudden this thief ran out carrying a lot of stuff.

“I thought ‘this guy’s up to no good’ so I chased him.”

Mr Dwelly, of Stapleford, confronted Haywood, 39, and told him to take the groceries back but he fled, and Mr Dwelly followed.

Haywood tried to leave Lidl in Sandiacre without paying for his shopping

Alongside the store’s manager, Mr Dwelly caught up with Haywood on the nearby Erewash Canal towpath, where the thief pulled a knife on the pair and demanded their wallets.

After a tense stand-off, with both refusing to give Haywood their valuables, he fled and was later arrested and charged.

Mr Dwelly, a retired teacher, said: “He pulled out this big knife. I said ‘I haven’t got any money, my wife’s got it all at the store’. He was quite threatening, but he passed me."

'Purely an instinct'

Further down the canal, photographs were being taken of the stand-off and police were called to the scene.

Mr Dwelly added: “A lot of people said ‘you shouldn’t have done that’.

"I thought nothing of it, it was purely an instinct - if it happened again I’d probably do the same.”

At Derby Crown Court in October, Haywood, of HMP Ranby, was jailed for six years after pleading guilty to multiple counts of robbery, attempted robbery, theft from a shop, attempted theft from a shop, and possession of a bladed article.

Both men who confronted Haywood were awarded £500 by the High Sheriff of Derbyshire for their bravery, which Mr Dwelly donated to the British Heart Foundation and Cancer Research UK.

The BBC Radio Derby Make A Difference Awards will take place in September.

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