Pensioner risks his own safety to stop fleeing shoplifters
PENSIONER Fred Winter risked his own safety to stop two feeling shoplifters.
Fred Winter risked his own safety to stop two feeling shoplifters
The 69-year-old grandfather grabbed one of the thieves in a headlock after steering his truck into their path, then held the pair until police arrived.
But although his heroism led to a man and woman being arrested and a bag of stolen goods being recovered, it met with a lukewarm response from police officers.
Instead of praising him for his public spirit, senior officers in Wiltshire gave him a stern warning about the dangers of people “taking the law into their hands”.
I managed to get him in a headlock
The father-of-five said yesterday: “I think the attitude of the police is unbelievable – they should be praising me.
“I did not do the shoplifters any harm but I put myself in peril trying to uphold the law. We very rarely see the police. So it was my duty to help.”
The drama began last Thursday in the village of Mere, where Mr Winter lives and works as a parish steward for the county council.
Police officers have warned against members of the public taking ‘the law into their hands’
He was driving past the Co-op store when he saw a shop assistant waving her hands and directing him towards the escaping pair.
Mr Winter said: “She said they had been shoplifting and were running away. So I said: ‘Jump in.’
“She did and we drove after them down the road.”
Mr Winter turned his Ford Ranger across the pavement to block their path, then leapt out and grabbed the man in a citizen’s arrest.
The shoplifters were fleeing from a Co-op store
He said: “I managed to get him in a headlock.
“He struggled but I kept at him and eventually I was able to quieten him down. The woman admitted they had done wrong.
“She said she was an alcoholic and that she needed the drink.
“You don’t think about whether you can get hurt at the time.”
Mr Winter, who lives with his partner Hilary Norman, also 69, was not hurt in the scuffle.
Two police officers turned up after about 30 minutes but did not thank the pensioner.
A Wiltshire Police spokesman said: “While we appreciate the assistance, we don’t encourage the public to take the law into their hands.”