Thief scared off by shop owner – on holiday in another country

LONDON: A café owner on holiday 6 400km away scared off a burglar back at home – while watching the break-in on his cellphone.

Jamie Foster, 34, was on a bus to the airport in the Dominican Republic when he terrified the raider by screaming at his cellphone, which is linked to a device on his premises.

The businessman watched aghast from another continent as the cameras were activated in his cafe and he saw the intruder rifling through the till.

But his cries startled the crook, causing him to flee Lillies Cafe in Wickford, Essex, with just £50 (R939) in his hand.

Father-of-one Foster said: “It was a quiet coach and I just started shouting at my phone. I think I made a few people jump. If anyone was asleep, it would have woken them up.

“I could see him rummaging around the cupboard. I told him I could see him. If I wasn’t on a bus, I probably would have been a lot louder and more abusive.”

Detectives are investigating and have released an image of a suspect.

Foster said: “I got a notification about movement from my camera system at the cafe. I managed to shout at him to try to make sure he left. He got in through a skylight window and stole about £50 from the till. I wasn’t able to call the police as I was abroad, so had to get a staff member to contact them for me.” | Daily Mail African

News Agency (ANA) SOUTH African Rugby Legends Association chief executive Stefan Terblanche, centre, stands next to a mannequin dressed in the 2018 Tsogo Sun Amashova Durban Classic cycling kit at a breakfast held at the Beverly Hills Hotel yesterday. With him are other race participants, from left, Michael Dladla, Dick Muir, Henry Coxwell, Mike Dowsley, Mboneni Ngcobo, Aphiwe Msimang and Ben Msimang. Terblanche, Muir, Coxwell and other rugby legends will participate in Sunday’s race which ends at Durban’s Moses Mabhida Stadium. |