A woman and her dog chased a man through the streets of Dundee after suspecting he stole hundreds of pounds in cash from her.
Julia Kasprzak was left in “disbelief” after coming face to face with a man she believed had pinched her money, keys and passport the previous evening.
Cash equalling around £600 — including pound sterling and Polish zlotys— was taken from her on Saturday evening in The Gaiety Bar on Balgarthno Road.
The 20-year-old delivery driver — having reported the matter to police — then encountered a man on Sunday she recognised from the pub.
She challenged him regarding the incident while walking her Akita dog near Dunholm Road but says he fled when she said she was calling the police.
‘I was in complete disbelief’
She said: “My passport and documents had been discarded and found by a resident nearby and they’d contacted me via Facebook.
“I went to retrieve them on Sunday with my dog, Safon and we went back to pub to check the CCTV.
“The staff showed me the cameras before I started walking home, [then] I saw this guy walking near Dunholm Road at the shops.
“I was in complete disbelief when I saw him in exactly the same clothing, it was definitely him.
“He was around 30 with dark hair and short facial hair in a black tracksuit.”
The Menzieshill resident said the man, who was around 5ft 10in height, tried to fob her off by claiming he had a younger sibling.
She said: “Although the man hadn’t directly been in my company that evening I recognised him.
“He had asked me for a cigarette at the pub and I gave him one of my cigarettes.
“There was no sort of conversation after that. I went to the toilet and my purse was gone and so was the guy.
“I was devastated as my car keys, cash and house keys were in it.
“When I met him again near the shops around midday on Sunday he said he was in the pub before I confronted him about stealing my purse.
“He said he had a younger sibling and backtracked that he wasn’t in the pub.
“I told him I was calling the police and he started running.
“I gave chase whilst on the phone with police for a couple of minutes before the guy fled into a garden on Dunholm Road.
“Adrenaline maybe carried me a little but I wasn’t scared to run after this man because I had my dog with me.”
Julia, who only recently moved to the area, has launched an appeal online to track the culprit down.
‘Unable to work’
She added: “I had quite a sum of cash stolen — around £400 — and I also had zlotys worth nearly £200.
“Normally I wouldn’t take this wallet out with me but in my rush to get out the door I took it with me.
“Some of the money was for car repairs.
“I’m a delivery driver and a bartender so I’ve been unable to work my delivery driver job due to the car keys being taken.”
A spokeswoman for the force confirmed they were investigating the theft at the weekend.
She added: “At around 10.35pm on Saturday, 5 February, officers were called to reports of a theft on Balgarthno Road, Dundee.
“Inquiries are ongoing.”
