IT was congratulations all round for Haslemere police last week when councillor Ted Orchard praised their quick action.
At a town council meeting, Mr Orchard produced the evidence - a three-feet long block of wood. He told his fellow councillors how he had been threatened with the wood in his garage after discovering a burglar.
Mr Orchard (82) said the man who had threatened him said he had a gun.
"I caught him trying to nick my car parking money out of my car," said Mr Orchard, who escaped unharmed and phoned 999.
"I enjoyed the excitement of it all really," said a cool, calm, and collected Mr Orchard
While congratulating the police on their speedy response, Mr Orchard was not so happy that the police officer who came to see him afterwards was required to spend one-and-a-half hours filling in forms.
"It's an illustration of the enormous paper burden everywhere," he said.
At the meeting, Haslemere's local policeman Ralph Swindell gave town councillors the latest crime statistics.
In the last six months there had been 12 house burglaries, 14 assaults, including a number of domestic incidents, and 12 break-ins from sheds and other buildings.
Hindhead suffered three house burglaries, two car crimes, and three other burglaries.
In Grayswood, one house had been broken into, there was one incident of car crime and three other burglaries.
Shottermill had four house burglaries, five incidents of car crime, two assaults and three other break-ins.
Pc Swindell welcomed the reduction in car crime since CCTV cameras had been installed in Weydown car park.
He added that most complaints about damage to cars had come from around St Christopher's Road, but many incidents had been resolved after a recent arrest.