TWO men have been praised by a judge after they caught a thief who stole a purse from a student.
Nick Fry and Jason Leathen have been awarded £250 from public funds for protecting the victim and apprehending the thief.
They saw Mojtaba Baharlouisit down beside Zoe Harris as she ate a takeaway at a bus stop in Parliament Street, Nottingham, at 3am on November 17 last year.
He was "uncomfortably close" to her before he walked away, prosecutor David Allan told Nottingham Crown Court.
Mr Fry and Mr Leathen noticed Baharloui leaving with a brown purse in his hand and they asked the woman if she still had her purse.
She realised it had been taken by Baharloui, so the two men went after him and detained him in Market Street.
At court, Baharloui, an Iranian asylum seeker, of Clumber Road West, The Park, was found guilty of theft.
Judge Michael Stokes QC sentenced him to ten months, of which he will serve up to half.
"There's too much of this crafty thieving going on in the city centre," he said.
And he commended the "public spiritedness" of Mr Fry and Mr Leathen with the cash reward after they dashed to the woman's rescue.
He said the offence happened late at night, the woman had been vulnerable, undoubtedly targeted and the property taken was of significant importance.
Inside her purse was a tram card with £200 credit, £5 in cash, a university card and her driving licence.
"This was a mean, nasty, targeted offence," said the judge.
"You plainly selected this young woman, who was on her own in the city centre very late at night, because she was obviously vulnerable.
"You sat down next to her, with the obvious intention of stealing from her, and you managed, surreptitiously, to steal her purse."
The court heard in mitigation that the defendant had been in Nottingham for 18 months. He came into the country 14 years ago but has been unable to work because of his asylum status. From July, he will be able to work legitimately, after he was granted a work permit.
He denied the theft from the student, claiming he was at a casino at the time, but was found guilty at Nottingham Magistrates' Court.
Baharlouli was subject to a suspended sentence at the time for battery, after he grabbed his ex-partner in a headlock during a domestic dispute. He received a one-month concurrent sentence for breaching it.
