/ 14 June 2005

Elderly man fights off intruder with his ‘bloody’ shoe

An 87-year-old Australian man fought off an intruder with his shoe after being attacked in his home, reports said Tuesday.

”I took the bloody shoe off and thumped him,” semi-retired horse trainer Johnny Oswin was quoted as saying by the Australian Associated Press.

Oswin went on the offensive when the man hit him with a metal bar after breaking into his home at Mount Eliza, south of Melbourne, on Monday night.

”I probably broke his nose and broke his teeth and he fell over. He got up and I thumped him again. He ran out the door and he said ‘I’ll get you, I’ll come back to get you’,” Oswin said.

The octogenarian, who suffered cuts and bruises, said he was not worried by the threat. ”I’ll fix him up if he comes in, I’ll use my fists on him next time, I’m pretty handy.”

Police described the incident as ”a vicious attack on an elderly man in his own home”, but urged people not to confront intruders. ‒ Sapa-AFP