A CRYING conman who scammed train passengers by pretending he needed money to spend time with his sick baby in hospital was arrested after he attempted to swipe a till from a Southampton store, the Echo can reveal.

Anthony Loveridge was tackled to the ground by a fearless city shopkeeper who gave chase after the 30-year-old burst into his store and stole his cash register.

The shopkeeper then held Loveridge down until police arrived and arrested him.

As previously reported, the incident took place in Waterloo Local, on Waterloo Road, on December 22.

Ananda Rathnayaka, who works at the store, said he was eating lunch when he saw on CCTV a hooded man burst into the store, grab the till and run out.

The shop keeper then bolted out of the store and chased him down the road.

The 54-year-old caught Loveridge and pulled on his jacket, before holding him down on the floor until officers came to the scene.

Daily Echo:

The till, which had around £150 in, was recovered.

Ananda said: “He (Loveridge) tried to kick me but missed and then the guy who called the police grabbed him to help.

“The police were so quick and arrived in five minutes. I’m so appreciative as they were really helpful.”

He added: “I’m proud of myself because I work hard to earn this money and people shouldn’t steal. Even if it was £10, that is a lot of money.”

Earlier this month, at Southampton Crown Court, Loveridge was sentenced for the theft, to which he pleaded guilty.

The 30-year-old also pleaded guilty to a separate theft of £124 of items from Primark in Southampton on December 13.

Loveridge also pleaded guilty to eight counts of fraud, which relate to him scamming train passengers out of cash by pretending he needed money to spend time with his sick baby in hospital.

He would make sure passengers heard him crying and speaking on the phone during which he would loudly claim he had a premature son in hospital and needed money for charity accommodation, so he could sleep close by.

Loveridge also tearfully claimed he was homeless, had lost his job and said his partner had falsely undergone surgery days earlier.

Loveridge, of Kendall Avenue, was jailed for two years.