A well-known 95-year-old man was left ‘shaken’ after burglars slung him to the floor and ransacked his Harefield home - all for just £75.
Alfred Pegler, fondly known in the village as ‘Hairspring’, and his wife Enid, 84, suffered a terrible ordeal when the thieves tricked their way into their home, posing as police officers.
The elderly pair were following their evening routine on Thursday January 14, when they heard a knock at the door at around 8pm.
Alfred was collecting wood for their log fire, so Enid, opened the curtains to see who it was.
Their son, Anthony Pegler, told getwestlondon : “The bloke said they were from CID and they’d had a report from Neighbourhood Watch and they had to come and investigate.
“Mum went round the side gate and was asking to see their ID when the oldest one grabbed her and shuffled her around the back to the kitchen.”
The younger burglar then kept Enid hostage in the kitchen while the other burglar grabbed Alfred and dragged him into the kitchen.
Anthony continued: “He’s 95 and can barely walk – he has a walking stick and it takes him ages.
“He was trying to get up, to get out and go to the neighbours to get some help and the older man came back in five or so times and chucked him back to the floor.
“All this time the youngest one had my mum held in the kitchen and wouldn’t let her go.
“She couldn’t get to her phone to call me and whilst this was happening the older one was just turning the place upside down – every cupboard, every drawer was pulled out.
"He just went through everything, upstairs and downstairs.”
'Shook up and very scared'
After after a frightening 20 minutes, the burglars got away with just £75 cash, which was all the Peglers had in the house. This included Enid’s weekly food shopping allowance.
The couple called the police immediately and rang their son, who immediately went to their house.
He said: “They were really shook up and very scared.
“My dad didn’t have a clue what was going on. They always thought people would leave them alone because of where they live.
“Everything was just slung everywhere. My dad is bruised and my my mum’s arm is bruised from where the bloke was holding her.”
‘Hairspring’ got his nickname as he was the village watch maker and repairer, and is known by many for riding round the village on his bike.
Mrs Pegler is grateful the burglars were not armed.
She said: “It’s a bit unnerving but we’ll survive. It could have been a lot worse.
“They didn’t have any weapons but they wouldn’t let Alf get up and every time he tried to they kept pushing him down.
“We don’t like to keep dwelling on it. It’s happened and we have to get on, it could have been a lot worse.”
Detectives from Hillingdon are now investigating the incident, which happened in Northwood Road, Harefield .
A Metropolitan Police spokesperson gave descriptions of the two male burglars.
He said: “The first man is described as white, 5ft 2ins and aged about 18.
“The second man was of Mediterranean appearance, 5ft 8ins and aged about 35.”
Police have not yet made any arrests and urge anyone with information to contact Hillingdon CID on 101 or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
