An 86-year-old battling grandmother was today (Mon

An 86-year-old battling grandmother was today (Monday) praised
by a judge for courageously stopping a tattooed jewellery thief.

Despite having blinding CS gas sprayed in her face, brave Mrs
Miriam Zafer blocked the robber’s only exit and grabbed him by
the collar.

She was able to trap the 32-year-old Kenyan-born thief
long enough for the police to arrive and arrest him.

Judge Gerald Butler QC commended the woman’s ‘outstanding
valour’ and awarded her pds stlng 250.

‘Her courage was quite extraordinary,’ the judge said.

‘She must receive, from the steps she took and her
courage, the sum of pds stlng 250 from the Lord High Sheriff’s
fund.

‘When she acted in this way reward was the last thing on
her mind and it will probably surprise her.

‘
The judge also praised the other woman shop attendant
Mrs Hilary Bywater, 46.

Anthony Hoadley, 32, of Althorne Road, Redhill, Surrey,
admitted assault with intent to rob and was jailed for six
years.

Mrs Zafer, who was not at Southwark Crown Court, commented:
Hoadley ‘well deserved’ his sentence.

‘He made me see red.

I could have killed him,’ she said.

‘I’ve had three burglaries at home and I thought, “Not
again!”
‘I was quite determined not to let him get away with
this and I got hold of his collar.

‘
The lively octogenarian said she was ‘quite excited’
about the cash reward.

The robbery, at the South Kensington Jewellers in Bute
Street, South Kensington on August 10, this year, was videoed
and shown in court.

Prosecutor Mr Mark Wyeth said Hoadley phoned the shop
enquiring about a Victorian star brooch worth pds stlng 6700 10
minutes before entering the store.

‘He engaged the two ladies in conversation,’ said Mr
Wyeth.

‘He had a satchel strung across his chest.

‘The brooch was produced and the defendant examined it
with an eyeglass, talking to the two ladies for eight minutes.

‘When the other customer in the shop left he produced a
CS gas cannister from his satchel.

‘He then sprayed two longish blasts in the two
ladies’faces.

‘
Mr Wyeth said it was the Crown’s case that Hoadley was
intending to steal the brooch.

But he did not count on the women’s courage.

‘The ladies whipped away the jewellery trays and
although blinded by the gas, Mrs Zafer ran in front of the only
exit and started shouting at the defendant,’ said My Wyeth.

‘He pushed her and she pushed him back.

‘The sprightly 86-year-old barred his way and undermined
his spirit.

‘He realised he was trapped and sat in a chair and tried
to conceal his gas cannister.

‘
Mrs Bywater quickly alerted police who promptly arrived
and arrested Hoadley.

The court heard that Hoadley, who had a wife and
children in Kenya, had previously robbed three petrol stations
in 1986 and had been jailed for 15 months.

ENDS