An 84-year-old British man defended himself from a would-be mugger using only his laundry.
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In a shocking viral video, Ron Croker was accosted by a masked man in a self-serve laundromat in South Yorkshire, England.
Appearing to be unarmed, the thug approached Croker, who was folding a pair of his pants. The masked man demanded he hand over his wallet. Croker refused, pushing him back towards the door, pants still in hand.
"GET OUT."
— ABC News (@ABC) January 14, 2025
An 84-year-old British man doing his laundry stood his ground against a would-be robber, fending off the masked assailant with a pair of blue jeans in hand. https://t.co/0Vn9bWf10M pic.twitter.com/VqeBCxTa8b
The mugger then tried again, reentering through the door and approaching Croker. The elderly man fought back once again, swiping at the masked man’s face and body with his pants.
“Get out!” Croker yelled in the video, continually raising his voice. But it seems he had things well in hand.
“I didn’t have any fear when he was coming screaming at me,” Croker told the Times of London. “I can scream loud and I just started yelling back at him.”
Croker added, “I said to him through [the] door, ‘If you come back in here, I’m gonna f**king kill you,’ though I didn’t feel like I really would. I have never experienced [anything] like that in my life.”
Ron Croker, 84, Says Would-Be Mugger ‘Picked on the Wrong Bloke’
Croker said he learned to look after himself from the age of “14 or 15.” He went on to raise 15 foster children with his wife of 60 years, Valerie.
He admitted that his mugger may have thought him an easy target due to his age. But the wannabe criminal “picked on the wrong bloke.”
“I’ve had fights and scuffled when I was younger. But when he was coming at me I thought I couldn’t back down,” the former construction foreman recalled. “There was no one there to help me. It was either me or him and I won.”
Croker remained in the laundromat until the police arrived. His first thought after that was to call his wife.
“I phoned her and said ‘I’ll be a bit longer, I’ve been mugged. But don’t worry. I’m not hurt and the washing is dry,'” he shared.
The 84-year-old man was uninjured other than some bruising. The viral security video of him thwarting the attack has many lauding his heroics.
His neighbors even set up a GoFundMe, which has raised more than £2,000.
Carl Goodfellow, who set up the fundraiser, wrote: “I’m reaching out to ask for your support in helping an elderly gentleman from our community who recently went through a tough experience at the launderette. Every donation will make a real difference in his life, whether it’s getting him laundry facilities at home to enjoy or something nice to brighten his day.”
However, Croker remains humble.
“Everybody seems to know me and says I’m a hero but I don’t class it like that. I just did what I could to protect myself,” he told the Times.
The outlet reported that South Yorkshire Police have arrested and charged a man on suspicion of attempted robbery in connection with the incident.