Robber crash-tackled by naked man

A man in Australia chased a robber almost 200 metres down the street and then crash-tackled him to the ground in nothing but his birthday suit.

Ryan Dein, from Northern NSW, and his partner were asleep in their Lennox Heads home when a man broke in to the house and started stealing their possessions, the Courier Mail reported.

Dein spotted the thief when he got up to get a glass of water and chased him down the street before the dramatic capture.

The thief eventually escaped, minus his ill-gotten bounty, which included a laptop computer, camera, phone and wallet. He also left his own wallet on the ground during the scuffle.

Police have since arrested a 22-year-old Ballina man on charges of breaking and entering.