Grandmother, 100, robbed after coming home from prayer meeting in 'despicable' attack in Tottenham

Aggressive attack: The woman was pushed to the floor after attending a prayer meeting near her home
Chloe Chaplain9 September 2016
WEST END FINAL

Get our award-winning daily news email featuring exclusive stories, opinion and expert analysis

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

A 100-year-old grandmother was knocked to the ground and robbed as she walked home from a prayer meeting in a “despicable” attack near her home in north London.

The elderly lady was on her way back from a religious service when a man approached her outside her front door, pretending to be an electrician.

When she said she didn't need any work done, the man forced her to the ground and wrenched her handbag, containing £300 in cash and personal items, out of her hands.

The victim called out for help to her grandson who was in the house and he chased the suspect down the road but was not able to catch him.

She has been left “distressed and shaken” by the robbery and is now too scared to leave her home in Sherboro Road, Tottenham, police say.

The pensioner was taken to a north London hospital as a precaution but had no injuries.

The suspect is described as a white man, aged 35, who was last seen running away from the High Road towards Seven Sisters Road.

Police are appealing for anyone who saw him or the robbery, which took place at 5pm on August 23, to come forward.

Detective Chief Inspector Luke Marks, from Wood Green CID, said: "This was a despicable attack on a very elderly lady who lived independently and is now fearful to return home.

"At 100 years old she had the sense and foresight to dismiss the suspect when he tried to con her into unnecessary electrical work but he then decided to mug her instead.

"She is naturally extremely distressed and shaken by what happened and we are appealing for help to catch his man before he targets someone else."

Anyone who can help is asked to contact police on 020 3276 3083 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in