4:00AM Friday Apr 24, 2009
By Ana Samways

A reader writes: "At about 7pm last Friday evening our 5ft nothing office manager went to our office carpark in Newmarket to find her car window smashed and two large men stealing her bag. (Yes, she knows it was dumb to leave it in the car). When the thieves realised they had been seen, they ran off, taking her bag with them. Ignoring standard police advice about not getting into confrontations, she chased them, caught hold of the guy who had her bag and tried to wrestle it off him. He pushed her off and kept running. The three of them ran up Carlton Gore Rd and across to the Domain, office manager screaming at them to give her bag back. A passing jogger saw what was happening and without hesitation tackled the bag carrier and recovered the bag. Meanwhile, a group of passers-by heard all the fuss, and came running to help. With the best of intentions, they leapt on the jogger, who was unfortunately still holding the bag. Office manager arrived seconds later and did the introductions, but the thieves took advantage of the darkness and confusion to leg it through the Domain. Office manager counts herself lucky, as she got her bag back, wasn't hurt, and insurance will cover the car window. She's very grateful to the passers-by, and especially the anonymous jogger, who apparently remained cheerful throughout."