Two Aberporth men have been hailed as have-a-go heroes in Australia after collaring a thief who made off from a Melbourne supermarket with a trolley full of goods.

Former Cardigan boxer Davy Lewis and his pal, Joe Davies, both 25, were working as labourers in a shopping centre in the high-crime district of Altona when they were alerted by shouts from supermarket staff chasing the fleeing suspect.

The pair, former pupils of Ysgol Uwchradd Aberteifi who left on a two-year trip to Australia in April, downed tools to take up the pursuit; Davy eventually cornered the man in a car park.

The thief threw a punch which Davy ducked before grabbing the fugitive and throwing him to the floor.

Joe then arrived on the scene and between them the Cardi pair pinned the man to the ground until staff from Coles supermarket arrived to retrieve the stolen items.

The man was released after his photo was taken and told he was banned from the store.

“Unfortunately for the thief Davy isn’t just a boxer, he also happened to run long-distance races for Wales!” said Joe.

Davy said: “I thought at first he had a knife, but thankfully he hadn’t – you’ve just got to keep calm in these situations."

See this week’s South Ceredigion paper for the full story, available in shops and as a digital edition now