This is the moment a 20-stone have-a-go-hero caught a yob who was being chased by five police officers – by performing a perfect rugby tackle in the street.
Dramatic footage shows the skinny thug trying to evade cops when he is brought to justice by man-mountain Louis Cartlidge.
Louis, 22, smashes the thug onto the ground and pins him down while onlookers scream “wow” and cheer before officers arrest him at 12.50am on Sunday (23/10).
The clip of Louis’ heroics were posted on Facebook and within 24 hours went viral with more than 50,000 people sharing and viewing the tackle.
Prop forward Louis said he just “reacted naturally” after seeing the man smash two revellers in the head with a bottle in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent.
Louis, a promoter and doorman who lives in Hartshill, Stoke-on-Trent, said: “There was a little bit of a brawl outside the club up the road.
“Then this guy attempted to bottle two people and when the police tried to intervene he ran away.
“There were about five police chasing him, I wasn’t really thinking I just reacted naturally.
“He had about a 20-metre run up and as he came towards me he tried to swerve round me – it was like a rugby match, except instead of a rugby ball he had a bottle.
“I just hit him and took him to the ground – it all happened so quickly. Then my friend took the bottle away from him and the next thing the police were there.
“They said thank you then everyone around me was saying ‘nice hit’.
“I don’t know if he needed hospital treatment, the police just put him in the van.”
Louis said: “I’ve had some good responses following it, even some family in America have seen it
“I’ve had to stop playing rugby recently because it doesn’t pay the bills, so it was nice to put a hit in again.
“I used to make a few big hits and I’ve missed it – it was a bit of a blast from the past.
“I think he only weighed about 12 stone, but it doesn’t matter how big they are, it’s just instinct when I hit them.”
Louis’s mum, Theresa, 56, a retired nurse, said: “In the last two years, two of his close friends have died, as well as his grandmother, who he used to help care for and then he lost his father Phillip to a heart attack.
“It’s just been horrible for him but he’s got such a caring nature – he’s a 6ft 4inch gentle giant.
“I’m so proud of what he did on Saturday night, I think he deserves the recognition he’s getting. He risked getting bottled himself.”
A Staffordshire Police spokesman said: “There was a fracas in Trinity Street at around 12.50am on Sunday, October 23.
“Three men, aged 18, 19 and 22 were arrested for Section 4 Public Order and were all dealt with by community resolution.”
