A brave passer-by has told how "instinct kicked in" as he tackled two men and brought one to the ground after a pensioner said that he had just been robbed.
Kris, from Hull, said that he was able to trip the man in the city centre and hold on to him while another escaped after the alleged robbery, reported HullLive.
Police were then called to the incident near the Prospect Centre at roughly 10am on Wednesday.
Kris said: "I was walking from Prospect Centre heading towards Heron Foods when I saw two males walking fast towards me. An old gentleman came around the corner and shouted 'them lads have robbed me'.
“I grabbed them both but one got away so I tripped the one I still had hold of him and lowered him to the floor. I pinned him to the pavement and knelt on his hip holding him in place.
“He couldn't move so he wasn't violent but just pleaded his innocence. I asked the gentleman if he was okay. He seemed shook up and appeared to be a vulnerable guy about 70 years of age.”
Kris says he responded out of anger at seeing them appear to pick on an elderly man.
He said: “Instinct just kicked in. I despise thieves. People work hard all their life and others think they can just take what they want. We're all facing hard times at the moment and that guy had his pension taken. I don’t know what the amount was but that is totally irrelevant! Even as little as £1 the poor old guy didn't need that stress in his life.
“I simply did it thinking he's someone's grandad and if mine was still alive and in the same predicament, I'd hope someone would do the same. Then the police attended and cuffed the guy. The gentleman who was still a little shaken was so thankful. He shook my hand and thanked me about 5 or 6 times in the space of 30 seconds. Hopefully this has restored his faith in humanity.”
One witness says how suddenly there was a large police presence. Several officers descended on South Street, close to the Prospect Centre.
The witness said: "I noticed a group crowding around a man who was on the floor and there was one police officer there who was with them. A few minutes later I noticed there were more officers - there were two cars and a van. Then another can turned up. It wasn’t obvious what was happening but there were a lot of police and a lot of people around."
Humberside Police later posted on Facebook praising those that intervened. They also confirmed a man was arrested at the scene.
The post said: "Officers attended Jameson Street in Hull after a member of public had detained a male who had stolen money from an elderly vulnerable male - fantastic community spirit displayed by the individual who put the elderly victim before himself."
