Mother of newlywed nabs suspected burglar in HIGH HEELS and dress
A POLICEWOMAN nabbed a suspected burglar on her daughter’s wedding day – while wearing her glittery dress and high heels.
Burglars dressed as ghosts caught stealing computers
Sergeant Julia Martin-Jones leapt into action as she returned home from the reception in the early hours and spotted a shadowy figure lurking nextdoor.
Despite being dressed to the nines in her off-duty glad rags the 54-year-old raced to grab the intruder and hung on to him until other police arrived.
She said: “There I was in my sparkly dress, high heels and all my finery. I think he thought I was some kind of crazy woman.”
Sergeant Julia Martin-Jones stopped a suspected burglar on the day of her daughter's wedding
Just hours before making the arrest she had watched daughter Grace Ottridge, 25 – a woman detective constable – tie the knot with groom Edward.
Sgt Martin-Jones, of Cheltenham, Gloucs, said: “It was around 1am on Sunday morning – I’d just returned home from the wedding party with family and friends.
“I saw a youth in dark clothing emerge from a neighbour’s driveway and I didn’t recognise him. I knew there had been burglaries in the area so I went and stopped him. My colleagues later found my neighbour’s garage had been broken into.”
Sgt Martin-Jones, who has served with Gloucestershire Constabulary for 14 years, immediately told the suspect she was a policewoman.
Ms Martin-Jones sprang into action on her way back from the reception
She said she detained him after not being happy with the answers he gave to her questions.
He did not put up a struggle and a police patrol was there within a minute.
The sergeant, who described the incident as “an interesting end to a fabulous day”, said she had told bride Grace what had happened and thought she would still be laughing about it.
The newlyweds live in Cheltenham and are now honeymooning in Barbados.
A teenager has been released on bail pending investigation
I saw a youth in dark clothing emerge from a neighbour’s driveway and I didn’t recognise him. I knew there had been burglaries in the area so I went and stopped him
Sgt Martin-Jones said she had experienced “a few” off-duty incidents before and that any of her colleagues would have done what she did.
She said: “We are a small force. We do come across things off-duty and you have to act.”
The sergeant, a well-respected member of the 2,000-strong county force, was recently involved in an anti-burglary campaign.
And she knows from experience how crime affects lives.
Ms Martin-Jones' daughter also serves in the police
Her own warrant card was stolen in a break-in at her former home and a woman trickster tried to use it to gain entry to other houses.
Before joining the police, Sgt Martin-Jones was a make-up artist and had worked on the BBC hospital drama Casualty.
She used those skills to create graphic images of injured women in a crusade to raise awareness of domestic violence.
The suspected break-in at her neighbour’s is being investigated.
A 15-year-old from Manchester has been released on police bail pending inquiries.