Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Distraction burglary on the Ladder - Beware
Originally posted by meg benitez on another thread on HoL:
My 79 year old mother is a resident on the Harringay Ladder and has owned her home where she has felt safe for the last 46 years.
On Friday last week at approx 11am the door was knocked by someone pretending to need some water for his car. He was a big built 6 ft man with what the neighbour believes to be a Polish accent.
My mum opened the door to him then closed it and went off to get the water, opened the door to him again and gave him the water then unfortunately opened the door again to be given back the bucket to which he then pushed it in on top of her and proceeded to demand money with the threat of a large kitchen knife.
Fortunately he didnt harm her even though she began to shout and kicked him and made enough noise to attract the attention of the next door neighbour who started ringing my mums bell and asking, 'are you alright mum' to which the burglar opened the front door and ran off.
I have contacted friends who live locally and have heard that there has been 2 other distraction burglaries recently with the same description of the man given and cant help but think that if it were put out in the local media that it may save some other old dear from the same distressing fate. My mum knows not to open the door to anyone but somehow was fooled that morning but feel had she of read of a man operating in local streets previous to Friday-she would have been more wary.
Just wondering why the police do not insist on the news being put out, have read of recent ones in the Enfield area where i live and cant help but think forewarned is forearmed. Please warn any old dears you know locally that may be vunerable to this kind of thing.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Old-Age-Emporium(OAE) on
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Ms Benitez, sorry to hear about your mother's experience of course, but it seems to me she's a lady well able to fight a battle. Good for her.
But, as Hugh D's second comment above says: this all seems to be bordering on paranoia rather than giving neighbours a helpful alert.
This 'old dear' wonders about your evidence of a "Polish accent". Especially as reported by a neighbour of a neighbour of your mum. Not a very prudent or helpful addition to your alert. As a peasant, descended from a noble line of peasants, I am unsure how your use of that word helps your description. As for your "w***** burglar" - unlikely, given the difficulty of performing both actions simultaneously and effectively.
As someone obviously older than you, I think I object to your classifying us all as "old dears".
All in all, I'm sure your mum needs a carer of a calmer disposition to reassure her.
Between your alarmist account and someone else's deep pool of blood which turned out to be a few blood stains on Endymion the other day, us old dears may begin to feel vulnerable.
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Hugh D's second comment was of the knocking of doors of people looking for work and rightly so there may be nothing in that.
The accent was reported by a neighbour who is eastern european so therefore a better judge of accents than my Irish mum would be.
As for the 'peasant' term this is what i deem anyone that commits a crime against the vunerable to be, he is hardly an honourable man and wants to gain from causing other people misery, you should have heard what the police in attendance some few minutes later were using for terms of what this person should be classed as. My mum has felt safe in her home for 46 years and for now seems to be ok but maybe delayed shock will kick in, many elderly persons never get over this and feel stupid for opening the door. He needed money- he should go work for it and not take someones security away and hold them hostage at the bottom of the stairs trying to get them up to the bedroom to get her to display her stash. If the neighbour hadnt intervened-god knows where this would have ended up.
Im sorry if anybody has been or is offended by my using the term old dears-its meant very endearingly as of course she is my old dear and i would like to think that more able bodied neighbours such as my mums would keep a look out for their elderly especially in the cold weather we have just had.
I totally object to your comment of my mum needs someone of a calmer disposition to reassure her, I have been her carer since 1994 so can thoroughly assure you she is in the best hands and has had round the clock attention from myself and my sons since in order for her to feel secure and this was her wish. Im am in fact her only daughter and she woudlnt allow a stranger in the house to do any caring for her. You say alarmist account, fact-there was a strange man in her house who used a distraction excuse to get in with a knife to threaten her with demanding money, the police are looking for him and this is what im warning people of-I cannot alarm my mum any more than he has already done and he managed to get in on the one morning that myself or my sons were not in attendance and my mum has been told repeatedly to not open the door. The elderly are only vunerable if they open the front door as this is obv his way of gaining confidence and seeing is there anyone else in the household visible to stop him in his tracks.
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As for the 'peasant' term this is what i deem anyone that commits a crime against the vunerable to be
No, peasants don't go around committing crimes against the vulnerable.
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Definition of PEASANT
1: a member of a European class of persons tilling the soil as small landowners or as laborers; also: a member of a similar class elsewhere2: a usually uneducated person of low social status ----this is what i was pertaining and please after a week and a half of severe stress and anger plus a dose of the flu and a 3 year old to mind running a 103 temp-I really do not need this and dont know why my post has so got a bee in your bonnett. I never posted or commented on 'the pools of blood' nor did i post this originally with -beware at the end of tle-originally posted on doorstep scam and it was reposted by hol site admin as it was probably deemed as an issue that could affect many more on the ladder as this man got away empty handed. Would be grateful if you could just leave it there now please as i have enough to be getting on with. Thank you
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Thanks for the warning. I think it is really helpful rather than alarmist. I am not old but I could quite easily have fallen for that. Who wouldnt want to help and give someone a bit of water for their car. Now I will probably refer them to the corner shop....
Re the window cleaner I think he was genuine. I asked for a card and got one. I wont use it because I did get irritated by him asking me how much I currently paid prior to being able to quote me a price.
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My mother feels like an idiot but is still showing no signs of falling apart over it-she actually went out the other day to the shops before any of us managed to get there and said she wasnt looking over her shoulder which is great because when i took her to mine for Sunday lunch-2 days after the incident-she actually didnt want to leave the house thinking he will come back. All i can do is reassure her he was never a regular burglar but one that hopes to gain from anothers infirmity.
And yes your right-any one of us could fall for that one-its in our nature to help others-I just wish that my mother would never be brought to her front door for any reason other than family, friends or the neighbour knocking as i have seen her rush from the garden in order to get to the door or phone on time and she is not the steadiest even at a slow pace. Im forever having a go at cold callers ringing demanding they take my mother off whatever lists they are using.
Will post again when i have more new such as the capture of this, 'lovely creature' and hope that he gets his just deserts. I have also emailed the Harringay Independant so hopefully will hear something in due course as to why its not being circulated nor the other 2 attacks by someone with the same description that happened preceeding the incident with my mum.
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You would probably have more luck with the Hornsey Journal as this has more local news
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Permalink Reply by Anette on
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Meg, this is a horrible and incredibly frightening story. I hope your mother will be ok, she sounds like a fighter, so fingers crossed. Please do post back to let us know how things are going and if the police has any joy with catching this cretin.
On another note, I am absolutely horrified to read that some old "dear" (using the term deal very loosely here!) dare imply that you're not calm enough to be a carer for your mother. That comment is disgraceful, and I think you're owed an apology. Some people seems to get off on nit-picking and trying to make other people feel bad, and it's not right. So sorry you had to read that on top of what must be a very stressful situation for you all.
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Probably some damned nit-picking peasant, Anette, rather than some old dear. But all is well now that Anette has joined in with her usually calm demeanour and caring turn of phrase.
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I take it you can't be bothered to apologise for being horribly rude then. As expected. Being old does not give you license to be rude.
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Permalink Reply by RuthE on
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Your poor mother must be really shaken up after such a traumatic event, hopefully it will be comforting for her to know how concerned most of her neighbours are.
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