A
brave 57 year old shop assistant showed plenty of snap, crackle and
pop when, armed with a box of cereal, she saw off a gang of teenaged
thieves.
Jenny, who did not wish to give her surname, but
who works at the Cobham Allsorts sweet shop in Portsmouth Road
was hailed a
hero by police and workmates after she tackled three youths on
Friday and stopped them from stealing a box of mobile phone cards.
The gang entered the shop at 11.45 am posing as customers and
two of them tried to distract her while the third leaned
over the counter and snatched a plastic
box full of mobile top-up cards.
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However
the gang got more than they bargained for when Jenny spotted what
they were up to. Armed with a cereal packet, she hit the startled
youth on the head
and knocked the cards out of his hands.
Jenny said "We have a lot of regular customers and you somehow know when
someone is up to no good."
"One of them picked up a box of cereal - I asked
him what he was doing , he got quite shirty with me, so I told them
to get away from the counter."
"I saw another lad lean over the counter so I charged
towards him and whacked him on the head with a cereal box. Unfortunately
I didn't have anything heavier .. it was just what came to hand."
The gangs getaway also failed to go according to
plan. Two pensioners and a disabled man from a nearby launderette gave
chase and managed to grab two of the thieves.
However, they managed to struggle free, but ended
up driving the wrong way round a roundabout in a bid to escape.
Jenny added "They were quite tall, but I have two
sons and a husband all over 6' tall."
"I am used to dealing with youngsters so I wasn't scared. It was quite
a funny sight, especially when they were being chased down the road."
"I am sure they will not come back to Cobham in a hurry."
Jenny's boss, Pravin Patel added: "She is a very
brave woman and very heroic. I wouldn't have liked to have been in
the thieves' shoes."
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