A mother of a brave four-year-old who helped prevent an alleged thief from escaping has spoken of how "proud" she is of her "very brave" daughter. Lisa Ettery and her daughter Lydia were heading into a Poundland in Prestatyn Park to buy some crayons when a man came running towards their vehicle with a suitcase full of goods.
The gentleman was running away from a nearby TK Maxx where he had allegedly stolen a variety of items such as jewellery and perfumes, Lisa told NorthWalesLive. Lisa explained: "We were on our way to Prestatyn Park, we were heading to Poundland to get some crayons so Lydia could do some colouring. On our way in, a man with a suitcase ran into my car and gave Lydia a fright. She was quite upset at the time because she didn't know what was going on, neither did I."
After hearing word from a crowd that had gathered by the store, Lisa decided, being "a bit cross", that she and Lydia would follow the man. The pair found him in a nearby estate asking someone for directions and Lisa explained that she wasn't sure what to do. Thankfully, Lydia's quick-thinking to phone the police helped assist the arrest.
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Lisa said: "We went up the high street and couldn't find him anywhere but then we found him on a nearby estate. That's when Lydia suggested we call the police to tell them that we'd found him. They hadn't received a call from the shop at that point so they asked if we could stay on the line.
"The line cut off but we'd seen him speaking to a woman on the Bodnant estate so I went up to her to ask what he had said to her and she said that he was asking for directions for the green bridge by the railway tracks. So I called the police back and told them to go there and they eventually caught him."
Following his arrest, the police made the man apologise for scaring the four-year-old. Officers later got in touch to thank Lydia for her help, and staff at the TK Maxx store allowed Lydia to pick out a toy of her choice for being so brave.
North Wales Police said: "We'd like to say a massive 'Thank You' to four-year-old Lydia who acted so brave when she and her mum spotted a man who had a suitcase full of stolen items that had been taken from a shop on the retail park in Prestatyn yesterday afternoon (Saturday). They called the police to tell them where the man was going to, and gave officers directions to his location after he had jumped in front of their car to run away.
"Officers arrived a few minutes later and the man was arrested nearby where the stolen items were retrieved. Thank you for being so brave Lydia - you are a superstar and we are all very proud of you."
Police said a 30-year-old man, of no fixed abode, has since been charged with theft from a shop and will appear before Llandudno Magistrates Court on April 27. Get all the latest stories from your area straight to your inbox for free with our newsletters.
