Wigan schoolboys praised for hour-long suspect chase

Two schoolboys who chased a suspected phone thief for an hour through Wigan have been praised by police.

Ryan Lancaster and Danny Lisko began tailing the man after spotting a girl being robbed of her mobile phone.

After following him around the town centre on Monday they sprang into action when he tried to escape on a bus - by standing in front of the vehicle.

The man was later hit by a car when he made another bid to escape the pair and was then arrested.

The boys, who are currently sitting their GCSE exams, had been visiting the Galleries shopping centre to look for a summer job on Monday afternoon when they spotted the 15-year-old victim in distress.

Ryan, 16, followed the man out of the centre, through Wigan Market and over towards Wigan Pier while calling the police.

He gave the operator a description of the suspect, as well as giving a seven-minute commentary on where he was heading.

"I was just thinking if he pulls a weapon out, I don't know what I'm going to do but decided to keep chasing him," he told the BBC.

"A full grown man doing that to a girl is wrong."

The man eventually ran down Wigan Wallgate and tried to get on a bus, where Ryan - by now joined by his friend - stood out in the road.

"He tried to get on free buses, but we kept stopping him," Danny added.

The man was only caught after he was hit by a car, suffering minor injuries.

Greater Manchester Police praised Ryan's quick-thinking in calling them and determination to catch the man.

Supt Karen Lee, of the Operational Communications Branch, said: "He's not just a good Samaritan, [he's] done a really, really good job here and without his help we wouldn't have made that arrest."

Police said a 34-year-old man had been arrested on suspicion of robbery and bailed until 22 June pending further inquiries.