Off-duty sergeant on hand to catch suspected Stanley shoplifter

The officer was making his way to a shop to pick up some food in Stanley, County Durham, on a rest day, when he noticed the elderly woman in distress.

On stopping to check on her, she told him she had run out of petrol and was looking for somewhere to get fuel.

Realising it would be a bit of a trek for her on foot, Sergeant Hanson took her in his car to the nearest petrol station to fill up a jerry can with fuel.

Once there, he noticed one of the staff members confronting a man inside the station store, so he went to investigate.

The man was a suspected shoplifter who was trying to leave the store with several unpaid for items.

Assisted by a member of the public, the sergeant quickly grabbed hold of the man and detained him, while shop staff called for police back-up.

The shoplifter was arrested on suspicion of theft and making threats to cause criminal damage, as, during the confrontation, he was said to have made threats to blow up the sergeant’s house.

It resulted in the 39-year-old suspect being taken into custody to spend the evening in a police cell.

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Amid the incident, the elderly lady managed to fill up her jerry can.

The sergeant then took her back to her car and filled it with the fuel she had bought.

Durham Police said the events of last Monday (June 22) proved, whether on or off duty, the force’s officers are, “always there to help”.