Leeds man tells of how he detained thief who broke into 14 cars in Woodhouse Lane car park and steal items

Jonathan Ruston, 42, said he had just finished his evening shift as a bus engineer on Monday, September 19, when he was walking past Woodhouse Lane Car Park near the city centre to get some takeaway food at around 11.30pm.

He said: “I heard loads of banging noises which I thought was strange given it was so late at night.

“I decided to go and have a look and on the first floor I saw that there were three cars with broken windows.”

He continued up the car park and found cars on every floor with smashed windows and items strewn along the floor.

Mr Ruston said: “I called 999 and told the police what I could see and hear. They said they would get someone over as soon as they could.

"I heard another smash and made my way to the ninth floor and saw the guy going through belongings in a BMW. The police said ‘don’t put yourself in danger, we will get an officer to call you on his mobile’.

"He noticed me though and so I gave chase.”

Mr Ruston said that he caught up with the thief on the stairwell and tackled him to the ground. He remained on the phone to the police and waited for them to arrive and arrest the man.

Mr Ruston said that the man had a piece of cloth wherein he had stored everything taken from the cars, which included phones, clothes and car keys.

He added that he later discovered the man was carrying a screwdriver and had broken into 14 cars that night.

Mr Ruston said: “I didn’t realise that at the time. I wasn’t thinking about myself or my safety.

"It shocked me that somebody could start breaking into cars on one floor and then do it on every single floor and be so brazen about it.

"It doesn’t happen. Even the police said they hadn’t come across this before.”

Leeds Magistrates Court confirmed that Richard Green, 24, pleaded guilty to possession of a weapon, theft and vehicle interference and was jailed for 26 weeks on September 20.