2
11
A determined motorcyclist dressed as Santa Claus helped armed police snare a hit-and-run driver after chasing them through Paris.
Police arrested the driver at gunpoint after the brave have-a-go hero raced after the driver when he saw her hit a pensioner at a junction.
She then does everything she can to avoid him as she bolts through the French capital, driving on the wrong side of the road while weaving through traffic and speeding through red lights
The astonishing seasonal drama was all captured on video by the Father Christmas on his helmet-cam.
His video – entitled ‘Hit and Run – the Christmas Vigilante’ – was posted on YouTube after last Friday’s chase in the French capital.
It starts off with Santa waving at people on his Kawasaki bike as he cruises around the Tuileries Garden, close to the Louvre Museum.
Then a young woman in a dark blue Renault Clio is seen causing the accident on the Rue de Rivoli.
She shows no interest at all in the OAP, who was walking with a stick when she hit him, leaving him lying in the middle of the road as she drove away.
At first Santa – who is on a red Kawasaki that matches his costume – successfully waives the driver down.
But as he prepares to make a citizen’s arrest, the woman speeds off, with Santa – complete with white beard and bobble hat – giving chase.
Santa then watches in astonishment as the Clio does everything to avoid him and another driver who witnessed the original accident.
She passes through red lights, and at one stage speeds on the wrong side of the road, while weaving in and out of traffic.
It is only when they get to the Madeleine, the historic Roman Catholic Church close to the British Embassy in Paris, that two police officers become involved.
Following a briefing from Father Christmas, one of the officers points a gun at the female driver’s head, and persuades her to get out.
The bespectacled woman, who appears to be in her 20s, is then promptly arrested, as Santa – who used the name Chris RS online prepares to hand over all his video evidence.
Local police confirmed that a suspect involved in the knocking down of a pedestrian had been arrested, and faced court action.
By Tuesday afternoon, the Chris RS’s video had been watched more than 1.6 million times on YouTube.