Man chases thief twice to recover stolen items

Peter Westwood said he "just heard the commotion and ran"

A man who chased down a mugger who robbed a pensioner, recovering her belongings, "didn't think" about his own safety.

Peter Westwood returned the woman's phone and went back a second time to reclaim more than £300 the thief had also taken.

West Midlands Police said a woman had her purse stolen on Castle Street, Dudley, by a man shortly after withdrawing money from a cash point.

Mr Westwood said: "I've never seen anybody get mugged or anything, so I just heard the commotion and ran."

Mr Westwood, who had just pulled up to pick up his wife, explained how he ended up in the situation.

"I'd stepped out the car and I just heard a bit of a commotion, somebody shouting 'he's got my bag'.

"Well I thought somebody had nicked her shopping, so I chased him and just caught him around the corner and he had... a mobile phone.

"So I returned it to the lady and then she says 'he's got my money'."

Then, Mr Westwood "had to chase him again".

"I shouted at him a little bit for stealing the money and that and then he kind of chucked it all up in the air, so it went everywhere, so he could run off.

"I quickly gathered the money up [and] got it back to the lady."

Police said a witness chased the man and managed to retrieve the woman's purse, but some money was missing.

The force stated it was investigating, following the incident between 17:45 and 18:10 BST on 16 July, and anyone with information should get in touch.