BRAVE shop workers have told how they went beyond the call of duty to chase down and restrain a knife-wielding thief who had stolen hundreds of pounds of stock.

Muhammad Chaudry, 29, Ali Mashadi, 47, and his brother Esmael, 50, ran almost a mile before catching up with a man they had caught stealing make-up from Wanstead Pharmacy, in the High Street.

The thief fled when a female shop worker confronted him for peeling the security tags off of various cosmetics such as lip stick and nail varnish.

After being cornered by the group in Wellesley Road the man pulled out a knife and threatened to stab them.

Ali Mashadi said: “He had his hand in his pocket and produced a blade.

“He became quite violent and angry so we tried to contain him and calm him down.

“It was getting quite out of hand but you could see he was also tired. “He said, 'don't come near me. I haven't taken anything. I'll cut you,' and he kept waving his arm around with the blade in his hand.”

After a passing driver called the police, the man was finally arrested and a bag containing around £400-worth of cosmetics was found dumped nearby.

Mr Mashadi, who manages the store, said: “He didn't even bother to throw the blade away when the police turned up and according to them he admitted to everything.

“I think he was probably taking the make-up to sell and pay for drugs as each piece is worth about £10.

“It wasn't as scary as you might think as there were three of us so we all drew strength from each other.”

A 41-year-old, was arrested for shop-lifting, affray and possession of an offensive weapon at around 2.20pm on Friday.