Presenter praises strangers' 'kindness' after theft

A BBC sports presenter says she is blown away by the kindness of people who helped and sent well wishes after her bag was snatched on a bus.

Jill Douglas MBE, who lives in Cheltenham in Gloucestershire, was on a rail replacement bus from Birmingham New Street station when a teenage girl grabbed her bag and ran, she said.

Douglas gave chase and said she was helped by a young man who caught up with the girl and got her bag back. "I was shaking, it really gave me such a fright. I thanked everybody when I got off the bus at Cheltenham," she added.

West Midlands Police asked for anyone with information about the incident to get in touch.

Douglas said the bag had family pictures inside it, as well as other things which could have been replaced.

Describing the journey, she said: "I put my bag at my feet and settled down. A group of young girls got onto the bus."

"They were being difficult - eventually he [the driver] said, 'get off'," she added.

Douglas said that was the moment one of the girls snatched her bag while running off the bus.

"I instinctively got up and shouted 'she's got my bag'. I was outraged.

"There was a young guy on the bus who chased her with me," she continued.

The stranger managed to retrieve the bag and then asked the reporter if she was OK.

"This lady gave me a big hug and said, 'oh my gosh are you okay'.

"They were just so incredibly kind - people who could have just walked on and not become involved, but recognised what had happened," she added.

Douglas said she had reported the attempted theft to police and officers had taken it "seriously".

A spokesperson for West Midlands Police said: "We were called after a woman's bag was stolen near Smallbrook Queensway, Birmingham city centre, at around 22:05 BST on 15 June."

The force said the bag was retrieved but anyone with information should get in touch with police.

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