This is the moment a young woman wearing only a bath towel stops a thief after catching him stealing tools from her father’s van.
Nicki Vine, 21, was left shaking after confronting a man who tried to steal equipment from the van parked outside their home in Broadstone, Dorset.
She had just gotten out of the bath and was sitting on the couch when she noticed that her neighbor’s security camera had detected movement around 11:30 PM on Tuesday.
She got up to take a closer look and saw a helmet-clad thief open the van’s sliding door and look inside.
Ms Vine said she got a ‘little angry’ and ran outside to confront the thief.
Security camera footage shows the young woman sprinting around the corner, holding her towel in one hand and a baseball bat in the other.
The thief, who was wearing tracksuit bottoms, trainers and a padded jacket, ran away from the van and into the street as Ms Vine swung the bat above her head.
He fled the scene with an accomplice on a motorcycle, with Ms Vine seen throwing the bat at them and shouting as they drove past her.
We see Nicki Vine running around the corner with her towel in one hand and a baseball bat in the other after seeing a thief open the sliding door of her father’s van
The thief, who was wearing sweatpants, sneakers and a padded jacket, fled into the street
Mrs. Vine had seen the thief open the sliding door of her father’s van seconds earlier
Mrs Vine works with her father, Darren, as a plasterer. He was moving some of the equipment inside when the thieves attacked.
She said they had been targeted by thieves before and she wouldn’t sit back when a thief tried to take the tools, which she described as their “livelihood.”
Ms Vine said: ‘I came home from my friend’s house at 10pm and took a bath before going to bed.
‘I was sitting in the lounge in my towel for a while and then I saw the neighbour’s security light come on. I saw on our CCTV monitor a motorbike driving slowly by with two people on it and then it came back. I thought it was strange.
‘One of them got out and walked down the road and I had a sixth sense of what he was going to do. He tried the handle of the van and I got a little angry, that’s our livelihood. I ran outside with the bat in just my towel.
‘The man saw me and ran away. I threw the bat at him, but he missed.
‘Then I heard the engine start and got out into the road to play chicken with it. I remember shouting, “Come on then.” He drove towards me and I had to step aside. I waved at him and I’m pretty sure I hit the bike.
‘When I got back home, I realized I was physically shaking. I didn’t really care what would happen, you just have to stand up for yourself.
Ms Vine said they had been targeted by thieves before and she would not sit back when a thief tried to take the tools, which she described as their ‘livelihood’.
“The support I’ve had from the neighbors has been incredible.”
Ms Vine later shared the CCTV footage on Facebook, with several people in the comments applauding her bravery and quick thinking.
She wrote: ‘So I strike again. Two boys on a moped tried to break into dad’s van.
‘However, I came (AGAIN) with a baseball bat in hand, in a towel and hit the rider on the moped who was driving away.
‘Keep trying, I’ll keep fighting! I’ve never played chicken with a rider before, except my god. Worth it! The police have been notified and evidence has been submitted.
“Cuddle around and find out.”
Daily Mail has contacted Dorset Police for comment.
