An 80-year-old pensioner has been hailed a ‘supernan’ after she bravely intervened in a moped robbery.
Grandmother-of-three Rosemary Bodger was so ‘incensed’ when she witnessed two men on mopeds trying to steal another man’s Vespa that she sprang into action – grabbing the scooter’s handlebars.
She had been shopping near her home in Crouch End, north London on Monday morning with husband Hugh, 80, when she rushed into action.
Grandmother-of-three Rosemary Bodger (pictured with her husband Hugh) was out shopping in Crouch End, north London, when she spotted the helpless motorist being chased and trapped by the gang
Rosemary, also 80, said: ‘I was looking for a cobbler and [my husband] Hugh had gone off somewhere else, and I just saw this scooter come towards me.
‘There were two lads on it and they pushed the Vespa towards the pavement.
‘This little chap jumped off the back and ran towards the man on the Vespa, so another old lady and I started shouting for people to call the police.
‘I was so incensed that it was happening but I work on impulse and these things shouldn’t happen – why would I let them take that poor man’s scooter?
‘I heard the boys on the moped had been stealing mobile phones so I just wanted them to be caught.
‘Then I heard the two men jump out the white van with what looked like scaffolding poles and the robbers rushed off in the other direction.
‘The poor chap on the Vespa was very shaken up, he couldn’t ride home because he had no keys so he had to push his bike to the police station – luckily he had a spare set at home though.
‘I just carried on with my day as normal after that, I mentioned to Hugh it was unusual but I didn’t think it would be a big deal.’
This is the moment an 80-year-old former Wren stepped in to save a scooter rider who was being ambushed by two moped thugs
Despite carrying two bags of shopping, she bravely grabbed the handlebars as the thugs tried to steal the scooter away
But this wasn’t the mother-of-two’s first act of bravery – she served in the Women’s Royal Naval Service for four years in the 1950s.
She followed in her war hero father’s footsteps, working on aircraft in Malta, after he died in World War Two.
After the war, Rosemary worked for Oxfam, before moving to Canterbury, Kent, and completing a mixed humanities degree while working in the university library.
Rosemary added: ‘My father died in the war, he was awarded a Distinguished Service Cross.
‘When I was in the Navy in Malta, we saw such poverty in Libya and Tangier that when I came back, I worked for Oxfam.
‘I met Hugh in 1961 when he was at university in Oxford training to be a doctor, and we married in 1965.’
The retired librarian added: ‘I saw this man being chased right near me and I thought ‘oh crumbs I better do something’. I started shouting ‘police!’ as loud as I could’
Following Mrs Bodger’s intervention, two builders brandishing poles ran after the men forcing them to flee
She added: ‘We moved to Canterbury and I got a degree in mixed humanities and I worked part-time in the library until I retired at 65.
‘I’ve always been busy, so this is nothing really – I’m very proud of having the bus stop near our home replaced for the disabled women who live in the flats up the road.’
Busy Rosemary also volunteers at Kew Gardens and Kenwood House, and helps look after her grandchildren, aged 14, ten and eight.
She added: ‘I’m a keen feminist and I want people to see that there are 80-year-olds out there doing things with fighting spirit, not just in hospital living off the NHS.
‘We’re on so many committees and look after our grandchildren, we’re very busy.’