A Swindon reporter who intervened to stop a group attacking a man in a Chippenham has been praised for his bravery by a crown court judge.

Daniel Webb of Wiltshire 999s was working in the town last October when he spotted the assault in an alleyway.

The reporter, who was wearing a stab vest and a personal-issue CCTV camera, broke up the fight.

Prosecutor Tom Wright praised the Swindon man’s intervention: “If he hadn’t done it may well have been a more serious incident.”

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Jamie Witts and Callum Teunon outside Swindon Crown Court

Mr Webb chased after one of the aggressors, who believed him to be a police officer, and performed a citizen’s arrest until police arrived. The moment officers arrested the teenager was captured on his body-worn camera.

Two men were this week given community orders at Swindon Crown Court after they admitted assault by beating.

Jamie Witts, 18, of Wood Lane, Chippenham, and Callum Teunon, 19, of  Sutton Benger, pleaded guilty to assault. The Crown offered no evidence on a robbery charge and formal not guilty verdicts were recorded by the judge.

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Callum Teunon is arrested by police in Chippenham town centre Picture: DANIEL WEBB

Both received 12 month community orders, with Witts given an eight week curfew, Sunday to Tuesday, and a requirement to do 18 hours at an attendance centre. Teunon must comply with a four week curfew on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday nights, as well as do 10 rehabilitation sessions with the probation service.

Judge Peter Crabtree said: “Mr Webb, who needs to be commended for his part in all this, was able to see about five males assaulting the victim.”

Speaking after the case, Wiltshire 999s owner Daniel Webb said: “Journalists are supposed to simply record and document incidents, but it is very difficult to stand back and watch something like this unfold in front of you. I am pleased to have done my bit in breaking up this altercation and potentially stopping a more serious assault.

“I was in Chippenham working another news story when I saw several people stood filming something that was happening in an alleyway. I’m too inquisitive to ignore it, and that’s when I came across the attack. I chased one of the men involved, detaining him following a short foot chase. At that point, I called out to a passer-by who assisted me in holding him there while we awaited police.

“The perpetrator initially mistook me for a police officer, possibly given the personal protective equipment I wear as a journalist covering crime, but I did make it clear I was not once he had been detained. There was no time for discussing my role in society amidst a serious incident, and I was obviously well within my rights to make the arrest.”