I had to shoot better men than you in Korea!
What 85-year-old model train enthusiast told thief he sat on until police arrived
AN 85-year-old war veteran and his wife sat on a burglar for ten minutes to prevent him fleeing with model trains worth hundreds of pounds.
John Headington told the intruder: ‘I had to shoot at better men in Korea.’
A judge praised Mr Headington, a former railway worker, and his wife Susan, 57, for their ‘remarkable bravery’ in detaining Robert Barnes, 28. He has now been jailed for two years.
Carrying a butter knife in his jacket, 6ft Barnes had used a brick to break into the couple’s rural property at 1am.
Andrew Scott, prosecuting, told Lincoln Crown Court that Mrs Headington was woken by the sound of Barnes smashing the kitchen door of their home near Spalding, Lincolnshire. She called 999 after the burglar entered the room where her husband kept his model railway.
Mr Headington, who has had two hip replacements, grabbed Barnes in a bear hug as he emerged carrying some of his most valuable trains.
The court heard the burglar barged past Mr Headington, who fell backwards against the landing wall. ‘As Barnes continued down the stairs he ripped the phone from Mrs Headington but then fell down and rolled on to the floor,’ Mr Scott said.
‘Mrs Headington sat on Barnes and was joined by her husband who had blood on his arm. He also sat on Barnes and they remained on him until the police arrived.’ Barnes told officers he had to commit the burglary to survive because he was homeless. He later told police he had no memory of the burglary, having drunk a litre of vodka and whisky beforehand.
During the burglary, Barnes, who had previous convictions for obstructing police, possessing criminal property and supplying
‘Wife told me to stay in the bedroom’
cannabis, grabbed four model train engines valued at £500, and five carriages worth another £200.
The items were of ‘particular sentimental value’ as they were models of trains Mr Headington ‘worked on as a young lad’, Mr Scott said. He added that Mr Headington has been told that parts damaged during the breakin ‘cannot be replaced, which has left him heartbroken’.
Mr Headington said: ‘ My wife was woken by the noise and told me to stay in the bedroom while she rang the police, but I didn’t do as she said. There was a struggle and I got him in a bear hug – we’re really getting to know each other.
‘I told him that I had to shoot at better men in Korea.’
Mrs Headington added: ‘I sat on top of him and said “you’re staying where you are”. Then John sat on him as well. We probably sat on him for between five and ten minutes – but he wasn’t going anywhere.’ Barnes, of no fixed address, admitted the burglary on November 20, and a second charge of possessing a bladed article.
Judge Simon Hirst said: ‘Mr and Mrs Headington must have been terrified. They have behaved with remarkable bravery.
‘Violence was used against the Headingtons. It is right to say it was not punches, but you barged past an 85-year-old man.’
He added: ‘People who carry knives, even if they are not produced when committing a burglary, must receive a consecutive sentence of imprisonment.’
Barnes was jailed for two years for the burglary and four months for the knife offence.