79 y.o. man chases down bike thief 50 years younger; Police thankful

Police have expressed their thanks to a 79-year-old Roosendaal man who chased down a bicycle thief on Sunday using an electric bicycle with a passenger behind at his back.

According to police, the man had given chase to the thief, a 27-year-old resident of Eindhoven, at around 4:30 p.m. after witnessing the man stealing his friend's bicycle at the Dijkcentrum in the town center. While trying to chase down the thief along with another man who wanted to help, the elderly man alerted a police officer along the Chromietdijk, who had himself just spotted the thief whiz past.

The pair and the officer took off after the suspect as a team.

"Along the way, the elderly pursuer as well as the local police officer got help from bystanders who pointed in the direction the bicycle thief was riding," the police said in a statement on Tuesday.

"All these people have contributed in this way to the arrest of the bicycle thief, thanks for that!"

The bicycle thief, who has a prior criminal record, was eventually caught and taken to jail, the police confirmed.