'Rambo', 78, thwarts car thief

File photo / NZ Herald

A Cambridge pensioner was determined that a thief was not going to steal his car - he jumped in the back as it was being driven off and refused to get out.

Seventy-eight-year-old John Milne has now been nicknamed "Rambo" by his friends, The Waikato Times reported.

The incident happened when a man approached Mr Milne at the Cambridge Lions Clubrooms last week and told him he wanted his car to look at furniture being sold in a garage sale, grabbing his keys.

"All I thought was 'I can't let the bastard get away with the car," Mr Milne said.

There was a glass lamp in the back of the vehicle, and the pensioner threatened the thief with it.

After driving around for several minutes, Mr Milne persuaded the man to return to the clubrooms.

The man apologised and eventually left, but didn't return the keys. Mr Milne stayed in the car for 30 minutes, until he ran to get help from a friend.

"I was shaking. I wasn't scared at the time, but it hit me after."

Detective Sergeant Ross Patterson said a 17-year-old man had been arrested and a second was being sought.

- NZPA