When three men approached an elderly grandma at an ATM, they likely thought they had found the perfect target for their criminal mischief. Unfortunately for them, they would quickly discover they were incredibly mistaken — and it was all caught on video.
Winifred Peel, a 77-year-old English pensioner, might have looked like a vulnerable victim to a teenage Romanian cashpoint gang, but as we all know, looks can be deceiving. When the trio of teens approached the elderly grandmother in hopes of snatching her money, they quickly realized how mistaken they were to think they had found an easy target. You simply don’t mess with Winifred unless you are willing to pay the high price that comes with underestimating the elderly.
The widowed grandmother-of-four was outside a Barclays bank in Bromborough in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, which is considered part of the Liverpool City Region in England. While at the ATM, a gang of three Romanian teenagers — later identified as 18-year-old Piper Dumitru, 18-year-old Florin Geblescu, and 19-year-old Felix Stoica — approached. Winifred quickly realized she was about to be robbed.
After Winifred Peel had put her bank card into the ATM, Felix Stoica and his two accomplices attempted to shove the elderly woman aside as they pressed the button for £200 — the equivalent of approximately $250 USD. However, rather than give up her money without a fight, the brave pensioner fought her attackers, grabbing Stoica by the collar and smashing his head into the ATM machine several times.
“I bashed him into the wall as hard as I could, three times. He started shouting in Romanian – it was obviously the last thing he expected,” Winifred recalled. “I just thought, ‘You’re not having my money, young man.'”
The teen robbers obviously didn’t know Winifred Peel or that, even at her age, she went to the gym four times a week, where she not only used the treadmill but also lifted some weights. But, they learned rather quickly, and lucky for us, it was captured on video.
Although the criminals eventually fled with Winifred’s money, they wouldn’t get far. Instead, the elderly pensioner went into the local Barclays branch and waited there for the police. As she waited, she began to reflect on her actions, and the potential danger she had faced began to weigh on her mind.
“It was only afterward that I realized what I’d done and started shaking,” Winifred told the Daily Mail. “What if he’d had a knife? I might not be here today.”
After Winifred contacted the police, CCTV of the trio leaving the bank was circulated, and a week later, the trio was arrested in Blackpool and jailed for the attack. All three Romanian suspects who were living in Manchester later pleaded guilty to the robbery and were sentenced by the Liverpool Crown Court.
Felix Stoica received two years in a young offenders’ institution while Florin Geblescu was sentenced to 18 months and Piper Dumitru received an eight-month sentence, according to Metro. The court heard Stoica had numerous previous convictions for robbery while the other two had no record.
“You targeted a vulnerable victim, a lady who was 77 years of age,” Judge Norman Wright said. “Notwithstanding her age, she resisted, there was a struggle before you made good your escape.”
Winifred Peel, whose electrical engineer husband John died in 1982, admitted that the incident left her shaken and afraid to go outside. So, she was pleased that her attackers got what they deserved rather than a nominal punishment that wouldn’t serve as a deterrent as she had anticipated.
“After it happened I didn’t go outside for a week. I felt insecure for a long while afterward,” Winifred admitted. “I’m pleasantly surprised that they were all jailed – I thought they’d get a slap on the wrist,” she added. “But I’m pleased they’ve been locked up, or otherwise, they would be looking for more people to rob who maybe wouldn’t have been able to look after themselves like I was.”
After turning 78, the elderly woman, who had worked at a Hawker Siddeley factory making parts for guided missiles when she was younger, admitted that she had never experienced anything like this before, but she has no regrets and wouldn’t hand over her money without a fight if the situation were to arise again.
“Nothing like this has ever happened to me before, but I would never hand anything over without a fight. My three brothers have ribbed me about it. We used to fight all the time when we were growing up, so I suppose I’d learned to look after myself,” Winifred explained. “The bank refunded the money straight away and even sent me a bunch of flowers. Next time I go to my gym I know people will have a field day about this – they’ll say, ‘Don’t you mess with Mrs Peel.'”
While Winifred Peel was praised for her bravery, we can only hope her attackers got the ribbing they deserved from their fellow inmates for being roughed up by a sweet grandmother. Letting a grandma get the best of you when you want to prove you’re some kind of “tough guy” in a Romanian cashpoint gang has to be a special kind of embarrassment. As for the rest of us, Winifred provides the perfect reminder that we should all hit the gym and stay in shape regardless of our age since you never know when danger might darken your path.
