A woman poppy seller fought off an attacker and sat on him for half-an-hour until police arrived in a courageous act of heroism.
Jacqui Dewar, 47, of Dove Lane, Harrold, said she thought of her son Tom Driver, who is currently serving in Afghanistan, as she apprehended the man in the middle of the street.
She had gone out collecting for the appeal in the village with her partner on Wednesday night when she was approached by a male who claimed he wanted directions to Bedford.
Ms Dewar said he began eyeing up the poppy collection and became increasingly aggressive. He then launched himself at Ms Dewar but her partner Malcolm Whinnett, 47, stepped in.
Thinking fast she hid the poppy collection under a bush as the pair grappled with the attacker and tried to calm him down. The police were called and the funeral director, along with Mr Whinnett, sat on the man in the middle of the road for 30 minutes until the cops arrived.
Ms Dewar, who said she wanted to support the bravery of soldiers like her son on the front-line, said: “I was so determined to keep this guy’s hands from the generosity that all people in Harrold had shown.
“I thought about my son Tom on the front-line and that there was no way I was letting some scumbag steal this money.
“I was out there collecting on behalf of people like my son - that guy picked the wrong people to mess with. Me and Malcolm gave the man plenty of opportunities to calm down, leave and drop it but every time we let go he started again.
“In the end we sat on him for about half-an-hour until the police arrived.
“When they did it took six officers to restrain him so I was proud that I kept him apprehended for that length of time. It was a joint effort.”
A 29-year-old man was charged with assault and appeared in Bedford Magistrates’ Court on Thursday.
In a separate incident, thugs attacked a poppy collector, 61, as she walked alone in Tylecote Close, Marston Moretaine at 4.45pm on Tuesday. Two white men pushed her to the ground and snatched the collection tin from her hands.
The pair ran away leaving the pensioner with head injuries and grazes to hands, elbows and knees.
