A HEROIC Ryedale woman has been praised for making a citizen’s arrest after she saw a man trying to steal a coat.

Melanie Wright, 44, of Derek Fox Butchers in Malton, ran out of the butchers when she saw a 58-year-old man taking a coat from Woodall & Son's across the road at about 12.15pm on Friday, August 15.

She made sure the man could not run off before the police attended shortly after.

She said: "When I saw him take the coat, instinct just kicked in and I ran outside to grab him. He didn't try and struggle because I had him in a pretty good hold on him and he did try to give me the jacket back.

"I had first seen him at about 8.30am that morning looking at the jackets and he just kept turning up. I saw him shoving a jacket inside his and I just ran straight outside."

Melanie managed to hold on to the man before alerting Woodall and Sons to what had happened and owner Winston Kobylka called the police.

A spokeswoman for North Yorkshire police said that Melanie had demonstrated incredibly quick thinking and good community spirit.

She said: "Our thanks go to the woman who challenged the suspect in the street and made him return to the shop where the offence had taken place.

"Her vigilance and quick thinking is a great example of how the public can assist the police, however, we would not advocate members of the public putting themselves in danger and risking their safety in such situations."