CHAMPION coffee-maker Alistair Sollis spotted trouble brewing and became a have-a-go hero when he cornered two bag snatchers.

Alistair, 21, a trainee manager at Cafe Rouge in Little Clarendon Street, Oxford, showed a clean pair of heels.

He gave chase after spotting two young women snatching a bag from a customer and making a run for it.

The two girls had a 40-yard start on him but he chased them along the street.

He caught up with them in a nearby graveyard, where he managed to grab the bag back.

The former head barman returned to Cafe Rouge with the bag.

He walked in to a standing ovation and a kiss from the grateful customer.

Alistair said: "Something like this can happen anytime, anywhere, and you don't have to think.

"I just saw the problem and did what I thought was best."

"I was also compared to Linford Christie which was very flattering and the kiss was a nice surprise.

"It's good to see our customers are as passionate about us as we are about them."

Last year Alistair got his first taste of the limelight when he won a sun-drenched break for two in Brazil after being voted one of the best coffe-makers in Britain.

He was first nominated by impressed customers who were asked the name of the person who served them the best coffee in a promotion run by Cafe Rouge last year.

Alistair, who lives in Rose Hill, then picked up the accolade after beating staff from the chain's 90 other outlets.

He has worked at the Little Clarendon Street bar for over a year.

A Cafe Rouge spokesman said: "He's a real star."

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.