Brave 100 year-old Mary fights off attackers in Rugby park

A 100-YEAR-OLD great-grandmother was forced to fight off a gang of children when they attacked her as she walked her dog through a Rugby park.

Brave great-grandmother Mary Smith, who is partially deaf and blind, was attacked by the young boys, thought to be aged around ten and from a nearby illegal traveller camp.

They tried to pull her from her mobility scooter and rifle through her bags as she was taking her dog Xena and a neighbour's dog for a lunchtime walk through the GEC field, off Hillmorton Road, on Thursday (November 27).

Mary, a despatch rider during the Second World War, was forced to grab both dogs and drive at the boys, before escaping on her high-speed mobility scooter.

Speaking exclusively to the Observer, Mary's 77-year-old daughter Rita Doggrell, who also lives in Rugby, slammed the behaviour of the youngsters.

She said: "I can't quite believe the lack of respect these boys showed to a woman of mum's age.

"She had just started to go around the path and was taking her own dog and the neighbour's dog for a walk when they just set upon her.

"Mum suffers quite badly with blindness and loss of hearing and can only really make out shapes so she couldn't tell what was happening to begin with.

"She knows that a group of three or four young boys approached her and started trying to get her out of her mobility scooter. One of them even got onto it at one point."

Rita, of Cromwell Road, said her mum is inspirational for her age and was remarkably unshaken by the ordeal.

"Unfortunately nobody else was around to help," she continued. "But thankfully she was able to fight them off, grab the dogs and get away from them.

"She is incredibly strong and very good for age so she just took it in her stride.

"But it is completely unacceptable something like this should happen."

Mary, a widow who lives in Arnold Street, became the oldest person in Europe to have a pioneering cochlea implant earlier this year.

The mum of three and grandmother of six did not report the attack to police.

A spokesperson for Rugby Borough Council confirmed travellers arrived at the GEC on Thursday November 20 and were camped there until last Thursday (November 27).

They said: "The council served notice on the travellers and started the legal process to secure an eviction notice, but on Thursday (November 27) they moved on.

"Council staff visited the recreation ground within hours of the their departure to clean up and secure the site."

Buy photos» GEC Park off Hillmorton Road - scene of the attack. 49.014.021.rug.jm2

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