RUGBY winger Ste Smith is used to tackling opponents on the pitch - but he faced an altogether different challenge when he tried to haul back thieves by clinging onto a speeding car for 300 yards.

The 25-year-old was getting ready to clock-off work at Queens Park Leisure Centre when he spotted a thief driving away in his car.

As the crook stopped to let an accomplice into the red Honda Civic, Ste threw open the driver's door and grabbed him.

But at that moment, the offender put his foot down, leaving 14-stone Ste to cling on desperately as the car raced at 40mph along Albion Street. He says he was nearly rammed in to a wall and then had to lunge into the road to avoid a parked car.

Ste, duty manager at the Boundary Road centre and an amateur rugby league player with Pilkington Recs, said: "I had one hand on the door, one arm hold of him and the other leg in the car.

"He kept accelerating away and I was getting pretty scared. I was shouting at him 'stop! stop!' you can have the car.

"Then, at one point, I was nearly rammed into a wall and had to jump into the road when I was going to hit a parked car".

Friction burns

Fortunately Ste only suffered friction burns along his arm and thigh, but was otherwise unhurt. The car was found abandoned a short distance away in Exeter Street.

Ste, from Prescot, added: "In hindsight it was a bit of a mad thing to do and I could have been badly hurt or worse. But it was just instinct. I saw someone stealing my car and just reacted".

The car theft happened at about 4.50pm on Wednesday, August 20. Witnesses can contact police at St Helens on 0151 777 6969.