A MAN convinced a mugger into believing he was a policeman to win back a pal’s stolen purse.

Events organiser Don Quinn, from Colchester, was with his wife, Jean, and another couple when a gang member snatched a purse from one of their bags while they were on holiday in Budapest, Hungary.

He said: “Another British tourist came rushing up and said somebody had just taken a purse out of our friend’s bag.

“I chased after them, cornered them and shouted ‘stop police!’ in Hungarian and they stopped.”

The crooks sheepishly handed over the purse, which contained about £50 in Hungarian currency and bank cards, before fleeing.

Mr Quinn, 65, said he remembered the phrase for “stop police – allj rendorseg – having once hosted a Hungarian delegation in Colchester.