Reward for have-a-go hero

A have-a-go hero was praised by an opticians last week after a mile and a half chase resulted in the arrest of a man on suspicion of a £2,000 theft.

David Hanness, a disabled man in his 50s, was applauded for pursuing a suspected shoplifter who had stolen £2,000 worth of designer spectacle frames from Specsavers in Penge.

Hanness was shopping for spectacles with his wife when he noticed a man in a blue anorak acting suspiciously.

Store manager Ushma Patel confronted the man about the frames he had taken but he ignored her, left the shop and got on a bus, hotly pursued by Hanness and Patel herself.

After being made aware that the man was shoplifting, the bus driver refused him entry and Hanness, who has a slipped disc in his back and is registered disabled, chased him down the road.

The grandfather of three, who is also asthmatic, said he was out of breath, and feared that if he was knocked over he would not be able to get back up.

Fortunately a police van arrived so that Hanness and Patel were able to catch up with the man, who has since been reportedly charged with theft.
Hanness told the Bromley Express: 'It was brilliant to catch him, but my son told me off. He said "well done Dad, but you're not 25 anymore. You're crazy" .'

Specsavers has given Hanness and his wife a £100 reward as well as upgraded frames and varifocal lenses to thank him for his efforts.