Sussex restaurant owner arrested after grabbing yobs

12:00pm Monday 15th March 2010

By Emily-Ann Elliott

A restaurant owner has spoken of “shattered Britain” after he was arrested for catching two teenage yobs who broke into his storeroom.

Sal Miah, 35, who has run the Raj Poot restaurant in London Road, Crowborough, for 14 years said: “I went from being the victim to being the criminal.”

The father-of-five was arrested after discovering a group of youths breaking into a storeroom above the restaurant, where the alcohol is kept.

He said: “I heard a couple of bangs and I went out and saw one of them had his hand inside the broken window pane of the door to the storeroom and was trying to force it open.

“The minute I saw them I realised I was getting burgled and I just started chasing them into a park. I grabbed the two of them and brought them back to the restaurant while I waited for the police.”

However after Mr Miah called 999 a group of the boys’ friends gathered outside the restaurant, which was filled with 50 diners and started swearing and kicking the door.

Mr Miah said: “I went outside to try and talk to them and with one hand pushed a couple of them away from the door but I didn’t hit them.

“When the police arrived I left them to it but they came back 20 minutes later and said they were arresting me as they had allegations that I had assaulted the boys.

“I said ‘there are 50 people here, ask anybody what they saw’. But it turns out 12-year-olds have more credibility than my diners.

“As I was being put into the police car some of the boys were still standing outside my restaurant swearing at me.”

Mr Miah was taken to Uckfield police station where his DNA and fingerprints were taken and he was held in the cells before being cautioned for assault.

He said: “It’s humiliating. The system is all wrong. I don’t have anything against the police as they were just following procedures but I don’t think the people who make these rules live in the real world.

“The whole system is a joke, that people can’t defend themselves and their property. This isn’t just broken Britain, it’s shattered Britain.”

A spokesman for Sussex Police said: “We advise anyone who catches an intruder in the act to dial 999, observe at a safe distance and wait for the police to arrive.

“On no account should any attempt at aggression be made as this could easily escalate into violence.”