A FAMILY man’s crime-fighting exploits have been viewed by more than five million people on TikTok this week after he was caught on video intercepting a bag snatcher in Farnham.

Hero husband Darren Brownson, 36, was driving through Farnham with wife Nicole on Sunday (August 1) when he spotted a thief snatch a woman’s handbag.

He pulled his car over and chased down the hooded thief, eventually throwing him to the ground outside the Darjeeling restaurant in South Street.

Footage shared on social networking website TikTok by his wife shows Mr Brownson grappling with the suspected bag-snatcher, calling him a “scumbag” and telling him to run, before calmly returning the handbag to its owner.

In comments written alongside the video, captioned ‘I couldn’t love him more’, proud wife Nicole said: “So my husband saw a purse getting snatched today. He pulled over, chased the guy down and retrieved the purse then returned it to the owner.”

The dramatic incident has been viewed more than four million times across social media with users praising Mr Brownson’s courage and effectiveness dealing with the suspected thief.

The incident was not reported to police, but officers are now appealing for witnesses after the TikTok video was brought to their attention.

A Surrey Police spokesman confirmed the attempted theft of a bag took place in South Street, near to the junction with Union Road, in Farnham at around 10.45am on Sunday (August 1), with officers keen to identify the victim "in order to check on their welfare and ensure this is investigated".

Sergeant Andrew Crane said: “This video appears to show a man intervening and stopping a crime in action and we’d like to thank him for doing so. We would also like to emphasise that the public should never put themselves in harm’s way when a crime is taking place.

“We would also like to reassure the local community that we are looking into this video and would appeal to those involved to contact us to help with our enquiries.

“After witnessing a crime, always report this to us, providing as much detail as possible, so that we can investigate this and ensure the appropriate action is taken.”

If you witnessed anything, or have any video footage from that day, contact police quoting PR/ 45210082481 via:

* Webchat online at https://surrey.police.uk/

* Online at https://www.surrey.police.uk/.../af/how-to-report-a-crime/

* Or by calling 101.

If you do not wish to leave your name, call the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.