This is the moment an 84-year-old pensioner bravely fought off a mugger – using only a pair of jeans.
Ron Croker was drying his clothes at the Coin-op Laundrette in Maltby, South Yorkshire, when the masked thug burst into the shop and demanded money from him.
Frightened Ron grabbed the nearest thing to hand – a pair of his freshly laundered and folded trousers – and used them to whip the thug until he ran off.
Ron, a retired building site foreman, told MailOnline that the attacker ‘picked the wrong guy’ and was stunned by his fightback.
He said: ‘I’ve never experienced anything like this, I thought he was going to kill me. He obviously thought I was a frail old man but he picked the wrong guy.
‘I had my back against the wall but there was only ever going to be one loser and I wasn’t going to let it be me.
‘He thought I was going to just throw my wallet at him and put my hands up but I didn’t. I had the jeans in my hand because I was folding them and I just went for him.
‘He came in screaming “give me your f-ing money”, I gave him a good shove back and it came as a shock to him and it just went from there.
‘As kids we used to scrap and knew how to protect ourselves, I had no fear in what I was doing, all I was thinking is has he got a knife, is he going to pull it out on me.’
Ron believes he was targeted after the man overheard a conversation about drawing £600 cash to buy new car tyres.
During the minute-long CCTV video, the would-be robber can be heard repeatedly saying ‘give me your f***ing money now’ and Ron replying ‘you get out of here, I haven’t got any money’.
After a brief scuffle the thug left before returning seconds later – and pushed Ron so hard he stumbled.
Ron then got up and grabbed the jeans above his head as he forced the mugger out the door.
The attack has shocked locals in the former mining town. A GoFundMe page has been set up to help Ron recover from his injuries has already raised £1,500.
The page, posted on Wednesday by Carl Goodfellow, says: ‘I’m reaching out to ask for your support in helping an elderly gentleman from our community who recently went through a tough experience at the launderette.
‘Every donation will make a real difference in his life, whether it’s getting him laundry facilities at home to enjoy or something nice to brighten his day.
‘If you could click the link below to donate or share it with others, it would mean so much! Let’s spread some joy in to this man’s life and show him he is not alone!’
Reflecting on the incident, Ron said: ‘We worked hard all our lives, I was in the building trade for 42 years and we raised 17 foster kids.
‘I was just brought up to protect myself and I was not going to give in to him. When I close my eyes the only thing I can see is this thug racing towards me with a mask on, it’s all I can see at night.
‘I hope I did a favour to people because if it hadn’t have been me it would have been somebody else. He just wanted to terrify people for money.
‘The Maltby people have been fantastic for the kindness they have shown to me. People who I’ve never seen before have come up to me to check I’m ok.’
Ron said he hasn’t seen the CCTV footage from the Coin-op Laundrette in Maltby, South Yorkshire and only learned it had gone viral when his grandaughter called him in tears to check he was ok.
He said he suffered bruised hands from the tussle and revealed he struggles to sleep at night following the attack at 7.30am on Tuesday.
A worker at the launderette said: ‘He couldn’t believe it, at first what was happening, when the guy went for him he was just trying to get him out and grabbed the nearest thing to hand which was his jeans.
‘I couldn’t put into words what I think of the person who does that. It’s disgusting and any bloke shouldn’t have to be scared just going about his daily life.’
South Yorkshire Police confirmed a 42-year-old homeless man has been arrested and charged with attempted robbery and appeared at Rotherham Magistrates’ Court this morning.
To donate to the GoFundMe page supporting Ron, click here.
