Have-a-go heroes, one a 77-year-old woman, stood up to criminals in three separate incidents.

A pensioner was shopping in Sainsbury's at Tollgate, Stanway, when one of two females, thought to be in their teens, tried to snatch her handbag.

But the woman quickly grabbed the strap of her bag and refused to let go until the suspect gave up the attempted theft on Friday lunchtime.

Assistant manager Paul Denison said: "It would be brave of anyone, you never know what they carry."

He said: "She held on to her bag, she wasn't giving it up."

Mr Denison said the woman seemed fine after the incident. During the afternoon the store's security guard warned shoppers to keep hold of their bags.

At 11.50pm on Saturday night, a householder who discovered a man trying to get into a home pulled a window shut and trapped the suspected burglar's arm.

After the intruder freed himself, the resident of Brooklands, Colchester, gave chase until the man disappeared into the night.

The suspect was described as white with short blonde hair and was wearing a black T-shirt and jeans.

At 2am the next morning, a resident in a neighbouring house returned home to find the front door had been left open and suspected there had been a burglar there, too.

And two employees at Benham printers on Severalls Industrial Estate, Colchester, gave chase after raiders made off with equipment. Unfortunately they were unsuccessful.

Converted for the new archive on 19 November 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.