FOUR men thwarted a street robbery by catching a thief.
But the mugger wriggled free and escaped, leaving his haul behind.
Now, police want to speak to the four good Samaritans, along with anyone else who saw the robbery on John William Street in Huddersfield town centre at 5.35pm on Tuesday.
A 22-year-old Leeds man was walking to the railway station, talking on his mobile phone.
The thief grabbed him across his throat from behind and stole the phone.
He fled down St Peter's Street, but the victim alerted passers-by to what was happening and the four men caught the mugger.
They grabbed the phone from him, but he wriggled free.
The thief is white, aged 20 to 24, 6ft tall and skinny. He had very short dark hair, brushed forward.
He has a thin face, flat cheeks and a narrow, thin-lipped mouth.
He wore a shiny black waterproof zip-up jacket and black tracksuit bottoms with white stripes down both legs.
Det Con Russ Conlon, of Kirklees CID intelligence department, said: "We would appeal for anyone who saw what happened to come forward.
"We would particularly like to speak to the four public-spirited men who caught the thief and got the phone back."
Phone Det Con Claire Lawrence at Kirklees CID on 01924 431082.
