'Everyone needs a little bit of Batman': Norwich partygoer, 25, chases bag thief and retrieves handbag from cathedral wall

From the Newshound archive · first published 24 September 2026 · last updated 26 September 2026.

Sonni Mason, 25, was celebrating a friend's birthday in Norwich in a Batman costume when he spotted a man snatch a woman's handbag from outside a bar on Queen Street and flee. Mason gave chase through the city centre, stopping to alert a police officer on the way, and tracked the bag down to a wall close to Norwich Cathedral. A homemade grappling hook fashioned from a recycled toilet roll failed to help, but friends dressed as Mr Fantastic, Poison Ivy and Cyclops boosted him over the wall, and the bag was recovered with its contents intact.

Before grabbing the bag and running, the thief had confronted two women, claiming they had stolen his cigarettes.

Norfolk Police confirmed that despite Mason's heroic intervention, no arrests were made.

Mason posted a TikTok video of the chase that has since amassed more than 300,000 views.