08/02/2011 - Pensioner attacks gang with handbag
Four suspected robbers are being held by police thanks to the actions of an unlikely have-a-go-hero.
The men, who were wearing crash helmets and wielding sledgehammers, were attempting to break into a jewellers when a pensioner attacked them with her handbag.
Video footage showed the brave woman heading towards the six-strong mob as they smashed the shop's windows in Northampton town centre.
The woman, thought to be in her 70s, hit the gang with her large black handbag, causing them to drive off on three scooters just moments later.
The footage of the robbery, broadcast by ITV's Anglia Tonight, also showed other members of the public pinning down a man who had fallen from one of the scooters just yards away from the shop.
Northamptonshire Police said officers were called to the scene, on the corner of Gold Street and Bridge Street, at 9.30am on Monday after the offenders began to smash the store's front windows using sledgehammers.
A total of four men, aged 18, 22, 25 and 39, were arrested and police are now seeking a further two people who are believed to have been involved in the incident.
Copyright © Press Association 2011
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