Benn foils bag thief

A bag thief realised he'd picked on the wrong person when he turned round to see Nigel Benn chasing him.

The incident happened at Gatwick Airport as The Dark Destroyer was deep in conversation with staff.

The thief, seeing the holdall unattended, took his chance and whisked it away.

Unfortunately for him, Benn, a former world champion at middleweight and super-middleweight, spotted what happened and set off in pursuit.

It didn't take long before the crook was caught and found himself in a headlock he was never going to get out of.

Would you steal from this man?

Benn, who had just returned from his brother's wedding in Barbados, said: "I was so surprised that anyone would have the guts to do this.

"They obviously didn't know who I am and did not see my name on the name tags."

The only item in the bag was a bible, but Benn made sure the culprit didn't get away with it.

"I shouted 'Oi, you - give me back my bag'! I ran after him and got him in a headlock.

"He was a big lump and was struggling for his life but I wasn't going to let him go.

"There was no question of me hurting him, though."

A police spokesman said: "It's fair to say the suspect got a hell of a lot more then he bargained for.

"Nigel Benn is not a man to be messed with. You steal his belongings at your peril."

A 34-year-old Chilean man who was arrested for the theft was fined £150 by magistrates and ordered to be deported back to his homeland.