‘His leg was between my legs’: BBC newsreader Jan Leeming, 80, details being ‘rugby tackled’ by masked man at ATM – and reveals she cooked for her friends hours after mugging
- Ms Leeming, 80, says she has been left ‘very shaken’ and with a ‘very deep graze’
- The former BBC news anchor was ‘rugby tackled to the ground’ after the man
- He then made off in a getaway car, but was unsuccessful in stealing any items
- She described incident as a ‘horrid experience’, but says she is ‘absolutely fine’
Ex-BBC newsreader Jan Leeming revealed she fought off a would-be bag snatcher who rugby-tackled her to the floor at an ATM in a French village over a week ago.
And the veteran broadcaster, 80, told Good Morning Britain on Wednesday exactly what happened to her, noting her mugger was unsuccessful in his attempts.
Jan detailed the attack saying: ‘There was a man in the queue, shorter than I am, with a mask under his nose. I thought he was queuing. He spoke to my friend and said how good her French was.
‘His leg was between my legs’: BBC newsreader Jan Leeming, 80, told Good Morning Britain on Wednesday about being ‘rugby tackled’ by a masked man at an ATM in France a week ago
‘He then asked if I spoke French. I replied that I understood but don’t speak French.
‘He proffered his left hand. I was standing there. Then his leg was between my legs, he got hold of my thigh.
‘Next thing I know, I’m on the road, my head was a foot front oncoming car, I fell on my back and he ran off. I had seen that car before.’
She continued: ‘My friends they picked me up and I looked at my arm and thought that was going to scar’ as she showed the giant plaster which remains
She continued: ‘My friends they picked me up and I looked at my arm and thought that was going to scar.
‘A woman’s husband sprayed it with antiseptic. The police station was closed, it was a local one, but we went to the pharmacy, cleaned and dressed it.’
Brave Jan revealed that after the attack she actually ended up cooking for her friends because she was on the rota to do so. but her friends helped her with the chopping.
The attack comes 35 years after Jan was mugged at the BBC.
She previously said it all ‘brought back memories of the mugging’ at the corporation’s headquarters
In 1987, three intruders mugged her for her handbag and threw ammonia into her face before she ran screaming into the newsroom.
A look back: Jan pictured during her news reading days at the BBC, where she was once mugged by three intruders
And talking about her latest attacker, Jan recently tweeted: ‘Even if he were caught I doubt very much he’d get a prison sentence – a rap on the knuckles and told not to do it again. In many respects the Law has gone soft.
‘What could one carry? Pepper spray. We cant make allowances for every exigency however bad or we would batten down the hatches and never do anything.. One has to live.
‘There was CCTV at the ATM but he wore a mask and the getaway car took an almost immediate left round a corner so friends didn’t get the number plate – probably forged anyway.
‘Gendarmerie was closed and when friends phoned number it went to answer. zilch chance of catching them.
‘Please don’t worry. I’m absolutely fine – not traumatised one little bit.. Just sore with a few bruises and a massive dressing on my arm.
‘Thank you all so much for your warmth and good wishes.’
Getting on with things: Jan looked lovely as she posed behind the scenes in a pretty blouse, heels and trousers
***
Read more at DailyMail.co.uk