An 80-year-old German woman whose handbag was snatched from her bicycle basket by a passing cyclist gave chase on her own bike and recovered her stolen property.

As she pedaled in pursuit of the 41-year-old thief through the western town of Buerstadt, she alerted a driver who stopped the culprit and held him until police arrived.

The woman had the guts to say, 'I'm not taking that', a police spokesman in nearby Darmstadt said Thursday.

Police retrieved the bag and returned it to its owner.