Tang Hall householder, 62, puts raider in headlock

10:07am Thursday 10th January 2013 in News Photograph of the Author By Mike Laycock, Chief reporter

A 62-YEAR-OLD man caught a burglar in his York home and held him in a headlock until police arrived.

The man, who has had a heart bypass and suffers from diabetes, and his 60-year-old disabled wife found the intruder in their kitchen doorway, while their 15-year-old grand-daughter was downstairs, and managed to stop him getting away.

“I asked ‘what are you doing?’ and he said: ‘I’m looking for somebody,’ or something stupid like that,” said the Tang Hall householder, who does not wish to be identified.“He ran to a sitting room window to get out through it and knocked me over. But my wife grabbed him by the collar and I was able to recover enough to grab him as he was near the window.

“I then got him in a headlock and held him tightly until police arrived. He was saying: ‘Let me go!’ but I wasn’t letting go. My granddaughter, who was staying with us and had been asleep in the sitting room, was screaming and standing on the sofa but then I told her to ring 999 and call the police.

“It seemed like an age before they arrived and handcuffed him, although it wasn’t really that long.

“Don’t make me out to be some kind of superman – the adrenaline just kicks in.”

His wife, who has a disability which means she can barely walk further than the garden gate, said she thought about going to the kitchen to grab a rolling pin to help her husband.

The couple said the break-in happened on Saturday morning when they had been asleep in their bedroom and were woken by a noise.

They said they were both bruised after being kicked during the incident, and had been to York Hospital for a check-up later in the weekend, but doctors said they had not suffered any serious injury.

However, they said they and their grand-daughter were still traumatised by their experiences.

•A 34-year-old man and a 17 year-old youth, both from York, have appeared before York Magistrates, each charged with two burglaries, and have been remanded in custody.

Comments(32)

anti-rant says...
10:33am Thu 10 Jan 13

I hope I'm that fit at 62!

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Woody G Mellor says...
10:36am Thu 10 Jan 13

Woo hoo! This is the kind of story I love to read! Made my day.

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sheps lad says...
10:51am Thu 10 Jan 13

Should have got the rolling pin and used it!!

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postie28 says...
11:02am Thu 10 Jan 13

wouldn't be at all surprised if the scumbag tries to sue for false imprisonment and excessive use of force.how often do these things get turned round so that the victim ends up in more trouble than the offender ?

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jadestars says...
11:27am Thu 10 Jan 13

Fantastic ... yes you should have given him a wallop with the rolling pin! Excellent Story!

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clm058 says...
11:31am Thu 10 Jan 13

I am sure the burglar will get slap on the hand and told not to do it again you naughty boy

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Kevin Turvey says...
11:31am Thu 10 Jan 13

Well done householder!

Golden rule is defend/detain on your property and not to chase down the street as this is deemed as excessive in case law!



‘postie28 says... 11:02am Thu 10 Jan 13
wouldn't be at all surprised if the scumbag tries to sue for false imprisonment and excessive use of force.how often do these things get turned round so that the victim ends up in more trouble than the offender ?’


In a purely hypothetical situation/example there may well be better options for society in general:

The intruder is certainly guilty of the offence in question as caught on the premises.

The mistake the householder may have made would be in ringing the police and handing over the perpetrator to the authorities for justice, bearing in mind the costly criminal justice system, cost of detention, legal defence and then released (if a prison sentence) and out to no doubt reoffend again!

A small amount of disturbed ground/mound discretely located in a corner of a remote wood may be a better alternative and save the taxpayer a fortune in prison, legal and inevitable social costs upon release.

The public would also have been protected from a proved waste/drain on society and for this individual to be removed from the population completely so they can no longer affect negatively on the lives of the majority of innocent others is surely a benefit to normal society that the individual has chosen to not be part of due to their own actions!

True social justice in practice in this purely hypothetical example!

Discuss.

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glyn says...
11:38am Thu 10 Jan 13

He ll be back for revenge. Probably with in the month cos he (they) will get 100 hour community work, probably cutting the grass in a park next door. The system stinks, Hit them hard the first time not the thirtieth..

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dodgydavereturns says...
11:40am Thu 10 Jan 13

I'm surprised he didn't just call Plaggy Terry from round the corner! Surely it would have been quicker, now he is one of the emergency services in the area?
I wonder if peddling pr*t was going past at the time too?

Well done though feller, I hope your elbows didn't hurt him too much!

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Kevin Turvey says...
11:49am Thu 10 Jan 13

more reasons to support my hypothetical example!

Todays news:

http://www.bbc.co.uk
/news/uk-20969898

Seven prison closures in England announced

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yorkshirelad says...
12:10pm Thu 10 Jan 13

This sounds appropriate but in a civilised society, defending your own property must have reasonable limits.

This might not seem obvious until you wander up a farm track looking for help only to be confronted by someone defending their property by shooting at you.

The 'appropriateness' of the force used is the thing and we must never be stupid enough to think that reasonable self defence means that anything goes.

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BKKYorkshireboy says...
12:11pm Thu 10 Jan 13

He must have been a very young or small boy not to be able to get away. They should have smashed his stupid little head in with the rolling pin.. might have knocked some sense into the little twerp!!

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GixerGaz says...
12:27pm Thu 10 Jan 13

Excellent! :)

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beef_sister says...
12:31pm Thu 10 Jan 13

Love reading things like this.... Makes my day.

What doesnt is knowing that this guy will prob be let off with a caution or some community work, and will just do it all over again. Pardon my language but.... ****! Lock people like this up.

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CJPG says...
12:33pm Thu 10 Jan 13

Shame the householder didn't have a gun!

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Davroshasissues says...
12:33pm Thu 10 Jan 13

Legend! good on that 62 year old, the little swine would have had more than a headlock off me...!

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pedalling paul says...
12:35pm Thu 10 Jan 13

dodgydavereturns wrote:
I'm surprised he didn't just call Plaggy Terry from round the corner! Surely it would have been quicker, now he is one of the emergency services in the area?
I wonder if peddling pr*t was going past at the time too?

Well done though feller, I hope your elbows didn't hurt him too much!
No I wasn't passing on that occasion. But I have previously become aware of anti social behaviour by a group on foot, which might have been less obvious to someone whizzing by in a car. On that occasion I was able to trail the offenders at a distance while phoning a commentary to the Police control room.
They were subsequently stopped & searched.
Be aware that York's cycling PC's and PCSO's have a very high arrest rate, due to the flexibility & speed of pedal power around the City centre.

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Blimp says...
12:54pm Thu 10 Jan 13

Nice one PP!

Brilliant, love it! More please.

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dodgydavereturns says...
12:56pm Thu 10 Jan 13

pedalling paul wrote:
dodgydavereturns wrote: I'm surprised he didn't just call Plaggy Terry from round the corner! Surely it would have been quicker, now he is one of the emergency services in the area? I wonder if peddling pr*t was going past at the time too? Well done though feller, I hope your elbows didn't hurt him too much!
No I wasn't passing on that occasion. But I have previously become aware of anti social behaviour by a group on foot, which might have been less obvious to someone whizzing by in a car. On that occasion I was able to trail the offenders at a distance while phoning a commentary to the Police control room. They were subsequently stopped & searched. Be aware that York's cycling PC's and PCSO's have a very high arrest rate, due to the flexibility & speed of pedal power around the City centre.
Easy to knock of their bikes though! haha

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big boy york says...
1:30pm Thu 10 Jan 13

hope he got a few jabs in whilst he had the little sh&t in the headlock

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buffsteve24 says...
2:16pm Thu 10 Jan 13

clm058 wrote:
I am sure the burglar will get slap on the hand and told not to do it again you naughty boy
Perhaps, but as the article says two have been remanded into custody which means right now he's sat in a prison cell in HMP Hull where he rightly belongs with a bit of luck he has slippery fingers and drops the soap in the showers ;)

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yorkborn66 says...
3:06pm Thu 10 Jan 13

Householder 1 Criminal 0
Well done !

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bob the builder says...
3:20pm Thu 10 Jan 13

postie28 wrote:
wouldn't be at all surprised if the scumbag tries to sue for false imprisonment and excessive use of force.how often do these things get turned round so that the victim ends up in more trouble than the offender ?
They can't now, you can use reasonable force by law, and in this case I would say appropriate force was used as this couple would be classed as vulnerable. Burglars beware!

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anistasia says...
3:23pm Thu 10 Jan 13

Good for you well done hope it makes others think and hope you don't get any come backs. Every householder should be able to use any force in protecting home and family.the burglar gets all the help from law he injuries himself in your home he can sue.if your breaking the law your in someone's home and you broke in you should have no rights.just hope these burglars don't sue for false imprisonment.

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steve_york says...
3:31pm Thu 10 Jan 13

well if I found someone in my home with my young family around I'd see red, don't think there would be much left of the intruder, I'd rather face prison than potentially lose someone you love, a bit extreme, and yes you can't take the law into your own hands, but bad things CAN happen from burglaries and I'd never forgive myself!!

(I'm not condoning taking the law into your own hands, you make your own choice, but they should not be there!!)

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Oncebitten says...
3:44pm Thu 10 Jan 13

This is undoubtedly a great act by a fearless soul protecting himself wife and property.

Sadly I think I would be fearful that the perpetrators knew exactly where I lived and worry that they would come back at some point in time, but I guess these thoughts only come with hindsight.

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Woody G Mellor says...
4:18pm Thu 10 Jan 13

If I ever find an intruder in my home, then I would without a thought take the law in to my own hands.

And the penalty would be severe and swift.

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Woody G Mellor says...
4:20pm Thu 10 Jan 13

Woody G Mellor wrote:
If I ever find an intruder in my home, then I would without a thought take the law in to my own hands.

And the penalty would be severe and swift.
Ok, maybe not swift. I'd get medieval on 'em! :0)

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steve_york says...
4:27pm Thu 10 Jan 13

hey, there isnt many if any come backs, you just make sure of it! this guy can have come backs from head locking the intruder, should he have just let him get on with it?

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RoseD says...
5:22pm Thu 10 Jan 13

LOVE this. Love it. We were burgled and it wiped us out, and i had dreams for over a year of catching them in the act and wiping them OUT. Not likely as I am not big and a wee tad less than abled but how can one not imagine such a thing. Plus Barclays house ins really messed us up. The perps were caught and sent off for a massive 18 mos. Anyway well done him.

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spottycow says...
9:52pm Thu 10 Jan 13

WELLDONE SIR next time hit the bas--rds with a cricket bat you deserve a medal

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hikerman says...
8:30am Fri 11 Jan 13

Nice story love it his wife was very brave pity she didnt kick him black and blue while the hero had him in a headlock made my day.

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