Line off-duty: Moment policewoman who was not working helps tackle shoplifter to the ground in her sandals after he stole ice lollies and bacon from petrol station

Published: 16:12, 30 June 2026 | Updated: 16:17, 30 June 2026 This is the moment an off-duty police officer helps tackle a shoplifter to the ground after he stole ice lollies and bacon from a petrol station shop. PC Alice O'Brien was filling up her car at a petrol station in Gillingham, Kent, on June 8, when she stepped in to help apprehend the thief. Nicholas Noble, 45, had picked up a Snickers ice cream bar, some Solero ice lollies, Mini milk lollies and bacon and put them in his carrier bag. He attempted to leave the shop without paying and was confronted by a staff member. Noble reacted aggressively and began to wrestle the shop worker outside the entrance to the shop. PC O'Brien noticed the altercation and helped the staff member tackle the shoplifter. During the minute-long effort, another member of the public removed a knife from Noble’s waistband.  Despite wearing sandals at the time, the off-duty officer pushed the suspect to a wall and brought him to the ground. Nicholas Noble, 45, attempted to steal ice lollies and some bacon from the petrol station in Gillingham, Kent PC Laura O'Brien stepped in to help apprehend the suspect outside the shop Despite wearing sandals at the time, she managed to tackle Noble to the ground before calling her colleague to arrest him She called an on-duty colleague to arrest him.  Noble was arrested for shoplifting and possession of an offensive weapon.  At Medway Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday, June 16, he pleaded guilty to all charges and a further count of resisting an officer in their duty. He was sentenced to six months in prison, with a further six added for a separate case, totalling 12 months’ imprisonment. PC O’Brien said: ‘I did what any of my colleagues would do, which is help members of the public who are in potential danger. ‘When I saw them get violent, I knew I had to step in. The staff member and member of public who assisted were absolute superstars, and I'm so lucky one of them spotted and removed the knife otherwise the incident could have had far more serious consequences. 'Learning afterwards that he had a previous conviction made me even more glad that I got involved and we managed to hold him there until he could be formally arrested.  'The Medway community and its businesses are safer now that Noble is behind bars.' The comments below have not been moderated. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.