The owner of a Keighley laundrette bravely fought back against a thief who tried to steal money from her till.

Hilda Smith, who owns the South Street Laundrette, forced the young man to drop some of the cash he had grabbed.

The attempted theft happened on Sunday at 1.45pm.

The man questioned Mrs Smith about some missing laundry and followed her into the office where he tried to grab around £30 in cash.

Mrs Smith took hold of the man's wrist and forced him to drop some of the money before he then ran off.

Mrs Smith says: "I have never had an experience like this before in my life and I am still very shaken up by it. I think it is really terrible when we can't even trust other people."

Mrs Smith - who has owned the laundrette for the last nine years - runs it with with her daughter Sylvia King. Mrs King adds: "We are very angry that this kind of thing could happen."

Keighley police say the suspect is a white man in his early 20s, 6ft tall, of medium build and clean shaven. He was wearing a white baseball cap with two black lines across the top, white or beige jeans and a dark jacket.

Sgt Allan Gee says: "This happened in the middle of Sunday afternoon and it may well be that someone saw this man before or after the offence."

Keighley police are appealing for witnesses after a boy was assaulted by a gang of youths.

The 11-year-old was walking through the town's Lund Park on Monday around 3.30pm when he was physically assaulted by three Asian youths. They reportedly attacked him without provocation and kicked him to the floor.

The boy, who is white, suffered grazing to his face, a cut lip and a bloodied and bruised nose.

The first suspect is described as around 15, 5ft 7in tall, of slim build with short black hair. He was wearing black jeans with grey pockets and a black jumper with an emblem of a man playing golf.

The second suspect was around 14, 5ft 5in, of slim build with short black hair with a distinctive blonde curl. He was wearing white jeans, with a blue-checked shirt which had the emblem of a horse and rider on the front.

A Keighley petrol station was robbed in the early hours of Sunday.

Keighley Police have issued a description of the man they want to trace.

The man struck at the Esso service station in Hard Ings Road at 4am. He stole £600 in cash and physically assaulted the male cashier.

Sgt Gee says the suspect first went into the toilet while a customer was paying. When the customer left, the man emerged from the toilet, assaulted the cashier and demanded money. The suspect also indicated that he had a weapon of some kind, although he did not reveal it.

After receiving the money from the cashier the man left the building and walked across the forecourt, heading towards the Lawkholme Lane area.

The attendant was shaken by the attack but not seriously harmed.

The suspect is described as 5ft 8in tall, of medium build, wearing a white fleece jacket with dark coloured arms, dark coloured trousers and a jacket which had a motif between the shoulder blades. He was also wearing a dark coloured hat and scarf which covered his nose and mouth as well as netting which covered his eyes.

Cash and a mobile phone was stolen from the IMO Carwash, in Halifax Road, Keighley, at 9.40am on Tuesday.

Three male suspects were seen driving onto the premises in a white Fiat Tipo. One of the men got out of the car and went into the office and, while the member of staff was distracted, stole the phone and cash.

He then returned to the car which then drove away from the scene.

The suspects are described as three men of Asian appearance, aged 18 to 25 and dressed in casual clothes.

Anyone with information should contact police Crimestoppers on 0800555111.

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