Have-a-go hero held after suspect’s death

A HAVE-A-GO hero has been arrested after the suspected armed robber he restrained during a supermarket raid later died in hospital.

The 24-year-old man, who foiled Shane Bryant’s getaway from a Co-op store in Ashby, Leics, was arrested on suspicion of grievous bodily harm. He has been released pending further inquiries.

He was one of a group of locals who restrained Mr Bryant, 29, as he tried to flee and held him for 30 minutes until police arrived.

A spokesman for Leicestershire Police said that when officers arrived to arrest the suspected robber he was “taken ill” and rushed to hospital.

Mr Bryant’s condition was described as “critical” after his admission on Thursday. He died on Saturday morning. Onlookers described how two men armed with a golf club raided the Co-op store on Thursday night.

A witness said: “One guy armed with a golf club got everything money-wise from the shop, but members of the public stopped him and restrained him for 30 minutes until police came.

“The other guy mounted the pavement in an attempt to get the members of the public off his mate.”

Another local said there was “screaming and shouting” and the sound of a car’s tyres screeching.

“I saw this one guy lying on the pavement below. I thought they’d been in a fight,” he said. “At first I thought they were helping him but then I realised they were restraining him.”

Police said that the death was being treated as unexplained, and that the Independent Police Complaints Commission was carrying out an investigation into police involvement in his death.