Have-a-go hero foils robbery by phone

A robbery at a London restaurant was foiled last week when a quick-witted barman used his mobile telephone to call police and then followed the suspected perpetrators until they were arrested.

One of the gang - who were understood to be armed with knives - is said to have knocked at the side door of Jim Thompson's at the Green Dragon, Winchmore Hill, London, at 11.15 last Monday morning. When manager Ali Saberi opened the door, he was knocked over and badly beaten.

"They fractured my nose and I was thrown to the floor," he said. "The whole thing was very scary."

The masked gang of three then forced Saleri to open the restaurant's safe, containing all the weekend's takings. But barman Reuben Evans saw the raid in progress from the back of the restaurant and phoned police.

He said: "I then went round to the front of the restaurant and saw them come out carrying a bag from the safe. One of them dropped a knife as he left. I followed them on foot and soon heard sirens. The area was crawling with police and they picked them up pretty quickly."

Three men, arrested shortly after the incident, appeared at Enfield Magistrates' Court last week, charged with robbery.

They were remanded to the Crown Court on a date to be arranged.