Bingo nanas thwart robbers
Pair flee rugby club empty-handed after seniors ward them off with handbags
‘Hero nanas’ used chairs and handbags, and kicked over tables to fight off wannabe thieves who tried to rob them during their bingo night.
A group of about 30 women — the oldest who was 87 — sprang into action when two thugs tried to raid the rugby club they were in.
Elaine Lamont thought ‘bugger this’ and pushed a table into one of the robbers.
“He fell down on the ground. A couple of the nannies on the other side were hitting him with their bags.”
The crooks fled empty-handed and police are investigating. Meanwhile the nanas returned to their tables to finish the game.
Agroup of Gisborne “hero nannies” sprang into action wielding chairs, handbags and kicking over tables to fight off two wannabe thieves who tried to rob them of $700 during their bingo night.
About 30 women — the oldest of whom was 87 — were playing Housie about 8pm on Friday at the Gisborne Pirates Rugby Club when two thieves wearing balaclavas burst in on their game.
The Herald on Sunday spoke to the 67-year-old “hero nannie” who flipped over her table in front of one fleeing thief as she fought to defend her and her friends’ $700 prize pouch.
“I’m playing and I’m thinking ‘who’s this idiot running past me?’. And I thought ‘oh hey he’s grabbing the money’.
“The lady running the Housie, she’s trying to fight him to get the money back and he turned around to run to the door and I thought to myself ‘bugger this’. That’s when I bloody shoved the table I was sitting at right in front of him and he flipped over.
“He fell down on the ground. A couple of the nannies on the other side were hitting him with their bags.”
The young thief fled the barrage of handbags — leaving the pouch of money behind.
The 67-year-old describes the two thieves as “clowns” who were clothed in army beanies, orange balaclavas, black track pants and brown hunting hoodies.
Elaine Lamont was dealing the Housie cards on Friday night and said the two young thieves weren’t armed.
“They said nothing, [one] came in and ran across the room to where my table was, tried to grab the containers we had our money in,” Lamont said.
“We had a scuffle with him trying to pull the containers backwards and forwards with him but I was determined he wasn’t going to take the money.”
Lamont said once the running thief was stripped of the prize pouch, the other grandmothers began throwing plastic chairs at the second man in the doorway.
“No one was going to let him get away with taking our Housie money,” Lamont said.
“They got away with nothing. The police were notified after they ran away. Once they got out the door about three or four elderly ladies tried to chase him outside — it was pouring with rain.”
One woman was struck in the face during the fracas, suffering a bleeding nose.
Both nanas the Herald on Sunday spoke to said the Gisborne Pirates Rugby Club weekly Housie night has been robbed before.
The 67-year-old “hero nannie” said she thought “oh no not again” when she realised what was happening. She was feeling “quite shaken up” yesterday, spending time with a friend who had also been at the club.
The 67-year-old said the Housie night and the community it fosters was an integral part of the nannies’ week.
“It’s our outing for some of the nannies, they enjoy it. Oh you
buggers, why come and rob the nannies? You’re spoiling the nannies’ fun,” she said.
“That’s what us nannies like doing, bingo. It’s something to do and then they come and rob it. God.”
Gisborne Pirates Rugby Club president Jenny Akurangi said, amazingly, the women returned to their game once the police and their dogs had departed searching for the thieves.
Akurangi said the nana with the bleeding nose was “telling the ambulance ‘it’s all right, I’m still good to play Housie’.
“They were giggling about it. I think that might have been the highlight of their night,” Akurangi said.
Police confirmed an investigation was underway in relation to the attempted robbery. When asked if she would be back playing Housie next week the 67-yearold nannie said, “Oh yes, I like my Housie”.
She also said the rugby club would be arranging for some of the Gisborne Pirates players to be there as security.
Lamont said the nannies were “a wee bit rattled” but they wouldn’t let that stop them. She also offered a stern message to the wannabe thieves.
“You are pretty gutless if you have to rob a bunch of old ladies on their one night out. We kept what we had and no one was hurt so don’t mess with us.”
No one was going to let him get away with taking our Housie money.
Elaine Lamont