A GROUP of convicts serving a community punishment chased and cornered a robber after he mugged a woman in a park.

The group, who were on a cigarette break while working on the Community Payback scheme in Stoneydown Park, Walthamstow, managed to wrestle the victim’s possessions back from the mugger.

But he escaped after supervisor Gary Hall called them off over fears he may be carrying a weapon.

The six men had taken a break from clearing overgrown bushes to drop a colleague off at an appointment nearby.

When they returned and parked their van in Ruby Road, the mugger sprinted by.

Supervisor Gary Hall said: "We had just literally got out of the van and all of a sudden someone ran by really fast.

"At first we didn't take any notice but within moments we heard screaming and shouting and it became clear the lady had been mugged and she was bravely trying to chase, along with a few members of the public."

Mr Hall, 58, said his group, all of whom are from the borough and have committed crimes including driving offences, non-payment of fines and assault, then instantly joined the chase.

The men, whose ages range from early 20s to early 40s, quickly caught up with the mugger and grabbed the stolen bag.

Mr Hall was then forced to call the workers off when he spotted the robber reaching into his pocket for what he feared could be a knife or weapon. Mr Hall, who has been supervising convicts for 15 years, added: "This was certainly a one off but schemes like this do a lot of good work.

"We can all do something wrong but if you do your sentence, everyone deserves a second chance.

"My lads were doing their orders and working and they were public spirited enough to say they were not accepting (the mugging) in their borough."

Mr Hall said the woman was driven around the area by police after he incident, which was on Monday, July 5, but the mugger was not found.

The man is described as Asian, aged between 25 and 35-years-old, 5ft 6ins, with short dark brown hair and wearing a light blue t-shirt and blue jeans.

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call 0300 123 1212 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.