Elderly couple praised by judge for tackling hooded robber

An elderly couple who leapt into action to thwart a hooded raider intent on robbing them of the till in their corner shop have been praised by a judge.

CCTV played at Gloucester crown court showed Dolly Karim, 74, hitting the would-be robbery, Steven Agg, with a stick - then her husband Dolad Karim, also 74, rugby tackling Agg to the floor.

Agg, of Moors Avenue, Cheltenham, gave up the robbery bid and fled through the door of the Pittville Newsagents and Convenience store in Cheltenham after the stubborn resistance of the septaguenarian couple.

Yesterday he pleaded guilty to attempting to rob the couple and also admitted robbery of a woman the day before.

He was jailed for a total of five years.

Prosecutor, Alistair Hegarty, told the judge, Recorder Frank Abbott: "In the early hours of Saturday February 18 the victim, Abigail Plester, was walking home with a friend after a night out.

"They bought a takeaway at 1.30am and then carried on their way.

"They were then approached from behind by a man on a bike, the defendant Agg. This was on Honeybourne Way, near Tesco's in Cheltenham.

"He said 'Give me your handbag.' They kept on walking. He followed.

"He then produced something. She thought it was a knife initially, but then saw it was a screwdriver. He repeated 'Give me your handbag.'

"She went to take her phone out in case she needed to call the police and he said 'Don't take anything out of your bag.'

"His demeanour became even more aggressive. He pointed the screwdriver at her, at her midriff area, close enough to attack her.

"She handed it over and he cycled off. It seems he had followed them on his bike for a little while.

"Afterward she went home, cancelled all her bank cards, and called the police. She lost her keys, iPhone, passport, and bank cards. Nothing has been recovered. The total value of the loss is over £1,000.

"The landlord of her accommodation wants to change the locks and will charge her for that," Mr Hegarty said.

"That's rather uncharitable" the judge observed.

Mr Hegarty then told the judge about the attempted robbery of the Pittville shop.

"The following day" he said, "at 8.40pm, Mr Agg enters the store. Mrs Dolad Karim, a 74 year old lady, is behind the till which he approaches. He then produces a screwdriver and demands the till."

The court was shown CCTV footage of Agg entering the shop with a hooded top drawn tightly around his face and wearing gloves with a screwdriver in his right hand.

"As Agg lunged for the till Mrs Karim tries to fend him off with a piece of wood, and then as he tries to leave he is dragged to the ground by her husband, who is in his 70's, of a similar age to his wife."

The judge interjected: "These days being 70 is not that old!"

Mr Hegarty confirmed that Mrs Karim suffered a "small injury to her hand" and that Agg did not get away with the till, although he did cause £400 worth of damage in his attempt to steal it.

At the time, the couple's daughter-in-law, Ash Karim, 35, said the hero couple, who have three children, were 'shaken' but relieved that no one was hurt.

She added: "This man came up to the counter and he pointed the screwdriver at her and demanded the money from the till.

"She turned around and went to grab this little stick in self defence.

"Then he literally grabbed the till from the counter and picked it up. She is hitting him at the same time and he started to walk off.

"My father-in-law was sitting in a chair towards the back of the shop and he heard her screaming and saw the guy.

"He jumped on him from the back and tackled him down to the ground. The man then dropped the weapon and ran straight out of the shop.

"My mother and father in law are in their seventies but they are quite fit and healthy. My mother-in-law is quite shaken but we just want to raise awareness about it."

She added: "Nothing like this has happened before. I think my father-in-law is so brave for doing it."

Sentencing Agg to five years prison for both offences, the judge said: "Your case is most unusual.

"It does not seem to me that you had any need to commit these robberies at all. You were going around on your bicycle, attempting to rob a store and succeeding in robbing this lady.

"It seems to me either motivated by drugs or you thought it was an easy way to make some money.

"The whole thing seems a little difficult to understand, but you have to understand that people on the receiving end of this conduct are traumatised.

"Both times people were very courageous. They don't know whether you are going to injure them seriously. The elderly man should be highly commended.

"You have no previous convictions for this type of thing. You don't appear to have been a particularly violent man in the past, but this is extremely worrying and frightening behaviour."