A MAN cornered a pair of thieves after they stole his mum’s car from outside a church.

Nick Fish, 26, managed to block the men in a dead-end street after hunting the thieves in Darwen.

The men had grabbed the keys from a cloakroom at the New Methodist Church in Blackburn Road, where his mum had been at a choir rehearsal.

Mr Fish drove around the town in a bid to spot the black Chevrolet Aveo, worth around £5,000, and saw the vehicle being driven around back streets.

After a short pursuit he blocked the vehicle in Powell Street before the thieves ran off leaving the car and keys.

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One witness reported seeing the car being driven on pavements and almost hitting a toddler.

Mr Fish said he felt ‘really lucky’ to have seen the men who had left his mum feeling ‘shaken’.

He said: “I didn’t know what to do at first.

“My mum is such a nice person and I felt really frustrated these men had upset her and shaken her up like this.

“It was pure instinct that led me to the Olive Lane area as I knew that was a place where a lot of police activity happened.

“I thought as they walked to the church they couldn’t have been far from it.

“Miraculously I saw them driving round the area quite slowly and I managed to follow them and block them in Powell Street, which is a dead end.

“At that point I was physically shaking like mad.

“I couldn’t even dial on my phone to call the police because my hands were shaking that much.

“Just a few seconds later I wouldn’t have seen them, I was really lucky.

“A lot of people had witnessed the car being driven on pavements throughout the day and one parent told me they had almost hit her toddler.

“We feel relieved, but the important thing now is that we catch these men.”

The theft was caught on CCTV and the incident has been reported to the police.

No arrests had been made last night but officers said inquiries were ongoing.

After the car was taken the thieves were seen going left up Bright Street from the church.

Mr Fish said they were driving round the Sudell area at around 15 to 20mph revving the car a lot.

They are thought to have been in their teens and were wearing hooded tops, police said.

The front bumper of the car was damaged in the theft which happened at around 3pm on Sunday.

A police spokesman said: “It was reported to us that a parked car was taken from outside the New Methodist Church in Blackburn Road, Darwen.

“The car was found in Powell Street with damage to the front left side.”