A former BBC arts journalist has revealed how she took on a thief who was trying to steal her mobile phone and won.
Rosie Millard said she “reacted on instinct” when she grabbed the thief and screamed as he pulled the phone from her hand.
The mother-of-four, who had been walking her dog 20 yards from her home in Islington, screamed so loudly the 6ft mugger threw her into a lavender bush, dropping her mobile phone as he fled.
Miss Millard had been leaving her husband an answer phone message when she felt a hand come over her shoulder and try to take the phone.
“It was like a dream,” she told the Daily Mail.
“I was thinking, ‘This is actually happening. My phone is being stolen.’
“I then grabbed his hand and screamed as loud as I could. There was no one close to me so I just kept screaming.”
Neighbours and a park warden chased after the man, described as Asian and in his 20s, but couldn’t catch him.
The attack took place on Sunday and Miss Millard said she was surprised by her own reaction as she had always told her four children to not fight back if they were ever faced with a thief.
The 47-year-old said: “Thinking about it, perhaps I should have let him have the phone because I worry about people with knives.
“I hope it will make him less likely to attack a woman in the future.”
A spokesman for Scotland Yard said the area was searched after the attack but no-one was found.
