Police arrest shoplifter with help from the old Bill actor

Jeff Stewart, who played PC Reg Hollis in police drama, sits on suspect's legs in Southampton as officers handcuff him

The actor who played PC Reg Hollis in the TV series The Bill has helped real-life police officers arrest a shoplifter who was trying to escape on a bicycle.

Jeff Stewart, who played Hollis for 24 years in the long-running ITV drama, sat on the suspect's legs while officers handcuffed him after he had fallen off the bike in Southampton, Hampshire, on Wednesday.