A father-of-four has spoken of the “extremely distressing” moment he jumped in to stop a woman being raped in an alleyway.

Phillip Mind, 51, of Vale Road, Whitstable, was in the town in March when he heard a woman crying out and ran to her aid.

He saw that she was being attacked in an alleyway in Island Wall and grabbed the offender and pulled him away, holding on to him until police arrived and arrested him.

He provided vital evidence to police and the man, Balasuntharam Sasikumar, was later convicted of attempted rape.

Mr Mind said: "I heard a woman’s voice crying out for help and didn’t really know what to make of it at first.

"The cries continued and I ran towards it and came out in the alley. I saw a man attacking a woman and it looked to me like he was kicking her, so I pulled him off and held him while my wife called the police."

"Anyone seeing that situation would have done what I did..." - Phillip Mind

A court heard Sasikumar had been drinking on Whitstable beach before the attack, when he followed his victim down an alleyway and pulled her trousers down. He was ruled unfit to plead and detained in a psychiatric hospital.

Mr Mind, who has lived in Whitstable for 16 years, has now received a Certificate of Commendation from police for his bravery. He said: "Anyone seeing that situation would have done what I did.

"It was obviously clear in the aftermath that the nature of what had taken place wasn’t very nice. That’s just putting it mildly – it was extremely distressing.

"I felt really sorry for the woman concerned, she was traumatised by it."

Mr Mind collected his certificate at an awards ceremony for police in east Kent at Canterbury Cathedral.

He said: “It was nice to go to the ceremony and was quite humbling to hear about the different things that people have done to protect our community – it pales what I did into comparison.

"It’s not something you want to see ever again. It’s pretty unusual in Whitstable. It’s a great town, is a very safe place with great people, and I don’t have any concerns on that account – the police did a great job."

The commendation said: "It is without doubt that Mr Mind’s quick thinking and actions protected the vulnerable victim from further harm and provided the police with overwhelming evidence that enabled Kent Police to bring the offender to justice.

"Mr Mind’s selfless act has led to long-term management of a dangerous offender and has helped to protect the public from further harm. Mr Mind is to be commended for his bravery and public service."