Man fought off by pensioner when he tried to mug him admits attempted robbery
A man who was fought off by a pensioner when he tried to mug him outside a supermarket has admitted attempted robbery.
Trevor Weston, 77, had just used a cash machine in Cardiff on the morning of February 5th when he was approached by Michael Collins.
The would-be robber grabbed the grandad-of-three and demanded he handover his wallet.
But Mr Weston fought back, aiming a series of punches at his attacker until he fled empty-handed.
Mr Weston, who was born in Somerset but moved to Cardiff as a young boy, previously worked as a bus driver in the city.
He had made an early morning stop at Sainsbury's on Colchester Avenue to withdraw money for his daily newspapers when he was approached by Collins.
Following the incident, Mr Weston said he had surprised both himself and Collins with his reaction.
"I've never had a fight in my life, even when I was dealing with troublemakers on the buses years ago," he said.
Watch the CCTV footage of the incident here:
Mr Weston added: "I cracked him a couple of times and he looked stunned, like he couldn't believe what I was doing. And, to be honest, neither could I.
"But, in this instance, when he demanded I hand over my money, I replied, 'You what? Do you want some of this, pal?' And I put up my guard.
"Actually, it's a good job there's no sound on that video, because I probably turned the air blue with what I really said."
Mr Weston said he had previously broken his right shoulder in a fall at homeafter putting up some curtains and so could only land a decent left punch on his assailant.
At the time, police said Mr Weston had shown "great bravery".
Michael Collins, 40, pleaded guilty to attempted robbery when he appearedbefore Judge Richard Williams at Cardiff Crown Court on Monday.
Collins, from the Ely district of Cardiff, admitted trying to rob Mr Weston ofcash and a bank card.
He appeared over video link from HM Cardiff Prison, with the judge,prosecutor Tim Evans and defence barrister Kevin Seal on Skype.
The case was adjourned for sentencing until May 7th due to technicalproblems and Collins was remanded in custody until then.
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