7:10am Thursday 2nd September 2010
By Flora Drury
A GREAT-grandmother took thieves by surprise when she fought back in a supermarket car park.
Marion Walter got her purse back from a shocked would-be thief after she took chase and demanded he hand it over.
“It was not bravery, it was just instinct,” said the pensioner. “He had my purse.
“If I had thought it through properly, he could have had a knife.”
The 77-year-old had just finished doing her shopping with her 90-year-old sister Doris Smith – who has a broken hip – at Waitrose in Droitwich when the incident happened on Monday, August 16.
The two women were getting into the car and Mrs Walter had placed her purse behind her seat when two men, with Eastern European accents, approached the car, one of them gesticulating at the back of the Nissan Micra. Mrs Walter, of Droitwich, got out to see what the problem was but when she turned back she realised the second man was knelt down by the drivers door and had her purse.
“I was moving and he had to get up, so I caught him. I got him pinned against the wall and had him by the lapels,” she said. “He didn’t offer any resistance.”
While the man tried to assure her everything was “alright” Mrs Walter demanded to know if he had taken anything else, exclaiming “it’s not alright”.
He didn’t have anything else - and he handed her the purse back before making his escape across Vines Park.
But now Mrs Walter - who has been incredibly impressed with the police who have dealt with her case - wants others to be aware of the problem of distraction robberies when out and about.
“I think we were targetted,” she said. “I’m no spring chicken. They were behind us in the queue for the check-out. I had quite a lot and he only had a light bulb. I nearly pointed out there was a ‘10 items or less’ till, but I thought don’t be a busy body.”
Husband John, aged 79, said: “I am very proud of her.”
We previously reported how thousands of pounds had been stolen from elderly shoppers, in similar circumstances, at supermarkets in Worcester, Malvern and Evesham during the past six months.
One man was arrested in relation to an incident at Tesco in Warndon, Worcester on Thursday, August 12. He has been bailed pending further enquiries.
A spokesman for West Mercia Police said enquiries into the Droitwich incident are ongoing and they are appealing for witnesses.
He added: “These cynical and calculating criminals rely on the goodwill of their elderly victims being prepared to help a stranger find their way – only for them to callously cause them great personal distress by distracting them and taking cash, cards and personal belongings.
“While we don’t want to stop people helping their fellow man we urge the elderly and vulnerable to be extremely careful about letting anyone make close physical contact with them, providing the opportunity to steal from them, irrespective of how plausible they may seem.”
Anyone with information or who saw a man with black hair, wearing glasses, a grey business suit and shiny black shoes running away from the scene at around 11.50am should call 0300 333 3000 quoting 290/S/160810.
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