the same man who had robbed his store the previous night.

Mr. Frank Arnold chased and caught the thief who had snatched cash from Modern Mart in Paget.

But the main thing on Mr. Arnold's mind was that this was the same man who had escaped his clutches the night before.

Part-owner of Arnold's Supermarket in Somerset, he said a thief had snatched a small amount of cash from his till on Wednesday evening and then fled before his staff could give chase.

Mr. Arnold, 25, said: "There was nothing I could do, he was gone so quickly.

He didn't take much money.'' The following day as Mr. Arnold drove past Modern Mart and saw a number of people milling around trees close to Garden Grove, he leapt into action.

"I could see someone with a baseball bat so I knew something was happening,'' he said. "I asked the staff where he had gone and then I saw he had become trapped in a little area so he was backtracking.

"I thought `let's go', and I took off after him. I did not know if anyone was chasing him with me.

"He jumped a fence and I did the same, ripping my shirt. I caught him as he tried to climb an embankment. I got him in a headlock and pulled him to the ground.

"Luckily he did not struggle too much so I was able to hold him easily although I never let up on my grip.'' Mr. Arnold held the man on the ground for around three minutes until the Police arrived and arrested him.

"I was hoping it was the guy from last night,'' he added. "To be honest I cannot say whether it was him although he had snatched cash from Modern Mart in the same way as my place was robbed.

"I never thought about whether I could get hurt. I am fairly fit and he did not really struggle.'' Mr. Arnold said he was lucky because the man would have been able to make an easy escape if he had reached the Railway Trail.

A witness in Modern Mart said he was buying groceries when he saw the man grab the cash out of the till and run.

"I was getting ready to go and I saw him push the cashier next to me aside and grab a hand full of cash,'' he said.

"He then ran out and I chased him across the road into a driveway. I didn't see where he went after that. We shouted to the man who lived next door to call the Police.'' Police identified the man as a 23-year-old from Southampton, who was taken into custody for questioning.

The incident occurred at 2.30 p.m., just hours after Police had issued a warning to shopkeepers over a spate of "snatch and run'' crimes.

Yesterdays "snatch and run'' was the fifth this month. A Police spokesperson said that the likelihood of the incidents being connected had not been ruled out, and there was a possibility of copy cats as well.

Sgt. Roseanda Jones said: "Shopkeepers, especially owners of small grocery stores, should note that all the crimes occurred near closing time.

"Remove large amounts of cash from the registers early in the day or keep the large bills under the cash drawer.

"Where possible, move the cash register out of reach or place a shield of some sort, such as plexi-glass, between the register and the customer.''