Vigilante dad forced to take law into his own hands as he chases down fraudster to make citizen's arrest

5 January 2023, 14:14 | Updated: 5 January 2023, 14:25

A vigilante dad has been forced to take the law into his own hands after a fraudster stole his card on New Year's Eve.

Scott Dunster, 38, tracked down the fraudster who used his wife's bank card before chasing him through a town centre to make a citizen's arrest.

He took matters into his own hands after the man broke into his car and stole his wife's purse.

The father-of-three discovered that £60 had been spent in an off-license store, so went to get CCTV footage from the shop.

Mr Dunster gave the images to police but not immediate action was taken.

He decided to post them on Facebook, saying: "REWARD TO WHO GIVES ME THIS GUYS NAME.

"Does anyone know who this is please? Stole my wife’s purse and used her cards last night."

Read more: Stitched up: viral mugshot of sex offender wearing Greggs bakery jumper leads to criminal's arrest
Read more: Mum killed by stray firework that got stuck in her clothes and exploded on New Year’s Eve

Mr Dunster described the process as "two nights of hell", adding that he was frustrated by the lack of action from Sussex Police.

"I risked my life confronting him. He could have been armed with a weapon," Mr Dunster told the Sun.

"But I was so angry at the lack of action from the police that I decided to do something."

A spokesperson from Sussex Police said: "At 7.45am on Saturday, 31 December, 2022, we received a report of a bank card being stolen from a vehicle in Stanstead Road, Eastbourne, and subsequently being used at shops in the town centre.

"The report was allocated to a local officer for further investigation.

"Police were notified later that day that the victim had identified the suspect through other means.

"While the investigation was ongoing, information relating to the suspect’s whereabouts was received by the victim and he was detained in the town centre with the assistance of security workers.

"Officers were nearby dealing with an unconnected incident and swiftly arrested the suspect.

"Joseph Khas, 27, of no fixed address, was later charged with fraud by false representation and pleaded guilty at Brighton Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday, 3 January.

"PC Marcus Cox, of the Criminal Investigations Department, said: 'We commend the victim for being so proactive and providing us with additional information which led to Khas being apprehended.

"'The public are our extra eyes and ears, however we encourage people to report information they have about a crime to us, so we can investigate fully without victims putting themselves in harm’s way.'"

Any information can be reported to Sussex Police online or by calling 101.