He Leapt to Catch a Thief. A Photographer Caught the Moment.

LONDON — It was like a scene straight out of an action movie.

A man in the busy shopping district of Manchester, England, chased down a theft suspect and tackled him with a flying leap on Wednesday.

He did what many people might dream of doing in that situation, but probably never would, even if they did happen to find themselves in it. The would-be linebacker, who was not named by the police, drew praise in the local news media for what some described as a heroic intervention.

Allan Bentley, a staff photographer of Cavendish Press, a British photo agency, happened to be standing nearby and captured the dramatic moment, which soon appeared on the websites of major publications in Britain.

It began when an unidentified woman withdrew 170 pounds (about $225) from an ATM near a grocery store and had it snatched out of her hand, the news reports said.

Bentley said in an email that he was just walking down the street when the commotion broke out.

“One guy was running full pelt whilst others were running behind him shouting, ‘Stop thief,'” he said, adding: “The guy put up quite a struggle, but he was no match for the others who grabbed him.”

The man was held down for a few minutes after the citizen’s arrest before the police arrived to take him into custody. The woman got her money back, Bentley said.

Greater Manchester Police confirmed afterward that a 43-year-old man had been arrested. On Thursday, the police identified him as Shazad Rahman, and said that he had been charged with theft.

In Britain, unlike the United States, firearms and even armed police officers are a rare sight on the streets. The man who made the tackle had only his agility and strength to perform the feat.