Gardai are on the hunt for a wannabe thief after his cowardly attempt to rob a woman was foiled by a heroic schoolboy in South Dublin.
A proud mum has urged anyone who witnessed the event to contact gardai after her brave young son chased the mugger and managed to retrieve the loot.
The incident happened in Nutgrove, Rathfarnham with the thief getting away after he hoped over a wall near Nutgrove Shopping Centre.
CCTV shows male group in balaclavas carrying crowbars in South Dublin as they break into house
Another brave girl also brazenly gave chase, jumping over the wall after the man while other locals stayed with the elderly lady and rang gardai.
In a warning on a local Facebook group, the mother of the lionhearted 13-year-old said the incident happened at the bus stop outside the shopping centre between 5 and 6pm on Tuesday.
She wrote: "This evening my son saved an elderly woman from being robbed by a local teenager wondering if anyone has made an appeal for witnesses.
"The teen dropped the bag and my son gave it back to the lad. I hope she's OK."
A woman replied to the post saying she also witnessed the incident and praised everyone who jumped in to help.
She wrote: "I saw the little brat running off with her bag this evening. I jammed my breaks and tried to block him from crossing the road.
"I was yelling at him out the window to just drop the bag. He jumped over the gate into the green opposite Nutgrove Shopping Centre, and fair play to the girl she jumped over after him...
"I was caught in traffic at the crossroads so couldn’t move, but I along with other drivers repeatedly beeped our horn to try startle him to drop the bag."
Another woman, who rang gardai, praised the young man describing the woman's reaction as "so grateful" when he came back with the bag.
She said: "She got everything back in her bag and was so grateful to all that helped. It was broad daylight and could have happened to anyone."
Anyone with any information can contact Rathfarnham Garda Station on (01) 666 6500
