SINGAPORE: A British retiree used a pair of jeans to successfully fight off a robbery attempt at a laundromat in South Yorkshire, England, giving a new meaning to the term of pantsing someone.
In the Jan 7 incident, Ron Croker, 84, was drying his clothes at a coin-operated launderette in the former mining town of Maltby when a masked man burst into the premise and demanded money, reported the English media.
“I was at the dryer putting my coins in when he smashed his way in and shouted, ‘Give me your wallet,’” Croker told the BBC.
“He kept on shouting and swearing at me, so I thought, ‘I’m going to shout back.’”
He did more than shout back – he squared up to the masked man and shoved him out, according to video footage from the shop’s surveillance camera.
However, the would-be robber returned moments later.
Croker then used the jeans to take a few swipes at the man, who finally retreated.
“I gave him an almighty shove and he went rolling into the road,” he told the BBC, adding that he sustained bruises to his hands and arm as a result of the incident.
Croker, who was a former building site foreman, said the robber was “coming at me”.
“There was no one there to help me. It was either me or him and I won,” he told The Times of London.
The South Yorkshire police said the suspect, who they identified as Lloyd Smith, 42, had been charged with attempted robbery.
He is currently under remand and is scheduled to appear in court on Feb 7.
Despite his heroics, the event has left Croker “shaken” and he is “struggling to sleep”.
People in Maltby have rallied around Croker, with a crowdfunding platform set up to help the retiree raising over £3,000 (S$5,000), three times more than the initial targeted amount of £1,000. - The Straits Times/ANN
