‘There are times where you should step in – this is one of them’

The moment Nick tackled the shoplifter (Image: Submitted )

A Stockport man who remained cool as a cucumber during a confrontation with an alleged ‘aggressive’ shop-lifter has said he felt a duty to ‘step in’.

Nick, 36, was caught on CCTV bravely tackling the man who he said had been pulling items from shelves and scuffling with staff in front of anxious customers.

Nick said he likes to ‘keep himself to himself’ but felt that he had to ‘step in’ after the man became aggressive and refused to leave.

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He told the M.E.N he was standing in the queue at a Londis shop in Ardwick on Sunday (July 12) when he noticed a man ‘pulling stuff off the shelves’.

“He was really aggressive and confrontational, going ‘I’ll take what I want’,” Nick said. “The lad behind the till went to try and stop him. He was putting up a fight and refused to leave.

“The cashier was trying to defend himself and all the customers were standing there watching. Some were getting quite upset.

“I remained calm and went over to him and used a move to put him on the floor and I just said you need to leave and he did.”

The moment Nick tackled the man (Image: Submitted )

Nick can be seen in a CCTV clip sporting sunglasses and striding over to the man before swinging him to the floor and pinning him down. The man then left without incident.

“I used a self-defence technique called a leg sweep, where he was not going to get injured or come to any harm,” Nick said. “I’ve done it that many times at the gym. I patted him down as I thought he might be carrying a knife.”

Staff told Nick the man was well-known in the area and that they were ‘grateful’ for his assistance. “They told me I could come by for a reward,” he said. “I just feared for the poor guy behind the till.

“I just work in an office but I do some fighting and sparring at the gym just for fitness,” he said. “In these situations you have to stay calm.

“I like to keep myself to myself. I don’t get involved in things. But that lad was not going to leave.

“No one was being served and women in the queue were quite uncomfortable. He was really aggressive and it’s not acceptable.

“As a member of the public there are times where you should step in and this was one of them.”