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A wannabe bank robber in Poland was quickly arrested by an angry pensioner.
The thief, armed with a knife, was no match for her sworn enemy and her fearsome cane.
Footage shows the moment the pensioner used her mobility aid as a weapon to keep the criminal at bay.
She had also grabbed the other woman’s hair to prevent her from escaping.
The incident happened at a branch of PKO Bank Polski in Przemysl, southeastern Poland, on Tuesday, December 6.
A young woman entered the bank branch, pulled a knife on an employee and demanded money.
Footage filmed inside the branch shows the attacker, later identified as 26-year-old Zoja P., holding the worker hostage by the hair.
A woman can be heard asking her, “Madam, what are you doing? To which she replies: “I rob the bank.
The woman then asks: ‘Why?’ To which Zoja P. simply replies: “Because”.
The attacker can then be seen stuffing PLN 12,500 – £2,300 – in cash, which she had received moments earlier, into a large bag.
But then, seemingly out of nowhere, an elderly woman who had snuck up behind her hits her multiple times in the back with her cane.
Zoja P. is briefly stunned before others intervene and subdue her.
One of those catching him is heard shouting, “Grab the knife!” A man in a suit then snatches the weapon from her and hands it to another woman.
The staff then discuss calling the police and are informed that officers are on their way.
Officials then arrived on the scene and arrested the young woman before taking her into custody.
It was later discovered that she had dual Ukrainian and Russian citizenship and was not registered with the Polish authorities.
She admitted to being charged with theft with a dangerous instrument and told prosecutors she tried to rob the bank because she needed the money to return to Moscow.
As part of the investigation, she will undergo a psychiatric evaluation. If found guilty and sane, she could face a minimum of three years in prison.
Spokeswoman Marta Petkowska of the Przemysl District Prosecutor’s Office said of the story’s unlikely hero: “Undoubtedly, in this whole situation, the elderly lady who reacted at the right time and thwarted the attack deserves praise.”
No one in the bank at the time of the incident was injured.
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