Good Samaritan directs police to hideout of taxi driver attackers where they were caught & arrested

A good Samaritan has been praised by police after he witnessed a robbery from his high rise flat in Newcastle – before using his location to direct officers to the suspects.

At about 3.15am on Monday, police received a call from a taxi driver who reported he had been robbed while sitting in his vehicle in the Shieldfield area of the city.

He reported that three men had approached him on Shields Street before they assaulted him, damaged his taxi and then fled with a quantity of cash.

Thankfully the 38-year-old victim was not seriously injured but he was very shaken by the incident and immediately contacted police to report what had happened.

Officers were quickly deployed to the area but a resident who had witnessed the robbery from a high rise flat nearby also contacted police.

He reported that he had seen the incident unfold – and was tracking the suspects from his lofty location on the 13th floor.

The good Samaritan was able to assist police in directing them to the location of two men who were suspected to have been involved in the incident.

The men – aged 26 and 21 – were promptly arrested before a third man, aged 18, was located later in the morning.

Today (Monday) a top cop has praised the actions of the resident and said it demonstrates the “fantastic community spirit” that exists in the city.

Chief Inspector Alan Pitchford, of Northumbria Police, said: “This was a fantastic piece of teamwork between police and members of the public that has led to the arrest of three suspected robbers.

“I want to thank the member of the public who witnessed this robbery and did not hesitate to contact police. Not only did he quickly alert us to the incident but he stayed on the line and provided updates with the locations of the suspects.

“It shows the fantastic community spirit that we have in this region and shows that residents will not tolerate this type of violence in their community.

“We will continue to work together to make our streets a safer place to live and to arrest those suspected of carrying out offences of this nature.”