Sports sub-editor Gary Caffell thought he was taking a lunchtime break from scrums and tries – until he found himself tackling a shoplifter.

The 22-year-old, who works for the Harlow Herald Series, the Dunmow Broadcast and the Saffron Walden Reporter, was out on his lunch break when he saw a woman and a young shop assistant from a sports shop chasing a man.

Have-a-go Gary

Gary, from Cheshunt, said: “The man was carrying a large bag of clothes and was about to get on his bicycle.

“He started riding away and I thought that the woman and the shop assistant needed some help.

“As I was chasing after him he fell off his bike – he landed quite hard and he said to us ‘look what you’ve done’.

“We found ourselves laughing at him. I don’t think he liked that and he seemed to get a bit angry.

“Then he ended up giving the bag back and said, ‘okay then, just take it’.”

The man handed back the stolen items to the shop assistant and then the three pursuers decided to let the man pedal off.

On his return to the Herald offices, Gary told his colleagues: “You wouldn’t believe what’s just happened to me…”