Cork Hero Used Marathon Training To Chase Granny-Mugger For 15 Minutes

A mugger was chased around the streets of Cork for a total of 15 minutes before he had to give up, as the hero giving him the chase was just too fit.

In fact, the man in question is currently training for the Cork City Marathon, the Irish Examiner reports.

The 83-year-old woman had just left a restaurant on Patrick Street when the mugger pushed her to the ground and grabbed her handbag. She had about €180 and a mobile phone in her bag.

Her shouts were heard by a man from the Glanmire area who was out celebrating his 24th birthday... and so the chase began.

The mugging occurred on the corner of Patrick St and Winthrop St on Wednesday. The mugger then ran down a side street into Oliver Plunkett Street, down South Mall, into Fr Matthew St and did a couple of laps of Morrison's Island. The Glanmire man chased him for 15 minutes, shouting at people to stop the man.

His shouts were ignored.

The gardaí arrived on the scene and arrested the mugger, who was also in his 20s.

The Glanmire man told the Irish Examiner he didn’t want to be named and "did what any other decent person would have done under the circumstances".

A friend told the paper: “He didn’t hesitate and he was in training for the Cork City Marathon so he was always going to keep up with the man who stole the handbag.”

Superintendent Barry McPolin said: “The young man who assisted in this incident should be commended for his civic spirit. It was obvious that he was extremely fit because he was able to keep running for so long.”

“But the victim was shaken by the ordeal and we are supporting her. Thankfully most of her property was recovered.”

Pic: Gotireland.com