A feisty 90-year-old widow who used her zimmer frame to tackle a hoodie burglar in her Oldham home today blasted ‘benefits Britain’ for the UK’s soaring rise in crime.
Eda Marron grabbed her walking frame and attempted to rugby-tackle the intruder after he burst into her home in broad daylight whilst she was sat in her armchair doing a crossword.
During her fightback the former World War Two munitions factory worker grabbed the yob by the waist in a bid to force him out of her bungalow in Royton, near Oldham.
But the burglar overpowered the old lady, pulled her to the floor and walked out her bedroom with her handbag, which contained her pocket handkerchiefs and her disabled badge.
Her purse was not taken but she was left with bruised knees and a cut hand from catching his belt or keys.
Mrs Marron, a retired dinner lady whose late husband served in the RAF, said: “People claim they are just after money because there is so much unemployment but they get benefits and I think unemployment is no excuse for what happened to me.
”I’m afraid it seems a lot of young people attack older people because they can’t fight back – because they are on their own.
”When I was young my father was unemployed but we didn’t get anything. Today they get stuff like child support allowance. We had big families they would be fed on next to nothing.
”We always had a good meal but today youngsters say they can’t manage on it and they do silly things. It’s terrible because you used to be able to leave your doors open. You never locked them and never worried.
”You could go out anywhere but it was different. All the youngsters used to be in bed by 10pm and now sometimes they don’t go out until 11pm.
“Young people have changed. They have no respect for you or even the police or anybody. In my day if you were cheeky to the police they used to hit you with a leather glove.”
Born in Oldham, Eva moved to Cambridge at 16 to live with her step-sister after both her parents passed away.
She moved back to the town 15 years ago when her Scots-born husband James, who served in the RAF during the war, died suddenly from a heart attack aged 77 while in hospital for routine treatment.
The incident occurred at 3.25pm on Monday March 17, when the intruder walked into Mrs Marron’s home through an unlocked side door while she was sat in her lounge.
The old lady got to her feet and challenged the burglar and even followed him into her bedroom as he rifled it for valuables.
But he ignored her and when he tried to leave the woman put her arms around his waist to prevent him from walking out the room. He then carried on walking – pulling Mrs Marron over.
Mrs Marron, who suffers from a long-term muscle weakening disease called myasthenia gravis, said: “I got my walker, walked up to him and said ‘who are you, what do you want?’, but he never said a word.
”I kept leaning on him to push him out and he wasn’t going to go. All of a sudden he turned around the corner to my bedroom – that’s where my bag was.
“I kept hold of him and was leaning on him to push him. But he opened the door to go out and put the bag under his arm and pushed me. I was screaming at the top of my voice and nobody came.
“I had a job to get up and when I got up my hand was bleeding and all the blood was running down my arm. I was in such a state.
“I think the courts should be stricter with criminals. This man just left me lying down on the floor knowing I couldn’t walk and he left me struggling. There’s something wrong with them to do that to me. From now on I’m going to lock my door.”
The yob is described as white, of slim build, between 5ft and 5ft 1in tall and was wearing a dark coloured hoody with the hood up and jeans.
Insp Muz Kernain from Greater Manchester Police said: “This man had the audacity to walk into this woman’s home in broad daylight, when she was at home.
“He ignored her a number of times when she asked him to leave and the woman was so angry she grabbed him round the waist to try to stop him from getting away.
“Although she fell to the floor, she was not seriously injured. If you were in the area at the time of the incident and saw a man matching this description leaving her house or acting suspiciously in the area, please call the police.”
Anyone with any information about the robbery is asked to call police on 0161 856 8825, email us at [email protected] or independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
Image courtesy of Ray Forster, with thanks.
