A PCSO, who detained a man for around ten minutes while he tried to break free, has been praised for his bravery.

Simon Smith was on patrol in the Sutton-in-Ashfield area at around 5.20pm on Sunday (27 May 2018) when he came across a man he believed to be wanted. He followed him for a couple of minutes asking him to stop, while checking his details.

Confirmation came back that the man was indeed wanted for recall to prison and failing to appear in court. Simon, who as a PCSO doesn’t have the equipment a PC would have in order to restrain someone, went on to detain the man despite being met with an immediate aggressive response where he was assaulted, verbally abused and threatened for around ten minutes.

His body worn video details the entire event.

Joseph Holt, 21, of Kenilworth Close, Worksop, was arrested and charged with assaulting an accredited person and was sentenced yesterday (29 May 2018) at Nottingham Magistrates’ Court to seven days in prison for the assault charge and a further seven days to run concurrently for other offences which related to a breach of license when he committed another theft on 3 May 2018 at Farmfoods Ltd, Victoria Retail Park, Worksop.

Police Sergeant Simon Scales said: “I’m so proud of Simon for his response during this incident. Despite being dragged around and suffering minor injuries, he held onto the suspect beyond the point of complete exhaustion. As a PCSO, he has no restraint equipment so I can’t praise him enough for his perseverance, bravery and professionalism throughout.”

“PCSOs do far more than people realise and as a community, I don’t think we fully appreciate the work that they do.”