Sunderland woman robbed hours after partner's heart attack

Nov 25 2009 by Dan Warburton, The Journal

A MASKED raider threatened to douse a shopkeeper in lighter fluid and set her ablaze before fleeing with cash – just three hours after her husband suffered a heart attack.

Bridget Richardson’s husband, Jeffrey, awoke at 4am on Monday morning clutching his chest before being rushed to hospital to undergo heart surgery.

Just one hour later the mother-of-three was forced to leave his bedside and open up the couple’s newsagents, Richardson’s News, on Rochdale Way in Red House, Sunderland. But as she began to organise the morning papers, a masked attacker entered the store and lunged at her with a bottle of lighter fluid and a lighter.

He grabbed a fistful of cash and stole a charity box containing around £130 before calmly walking out of the store.

As he left the scene he was confronted by a have-a-go hero who tried to wrestle the cash from his grasp, but the attacker slashed at his arm with a Stanley knife, leaving the passerby with minor injuries.

Last night Mrs Richardson, 46, who lives on nearby Runnymede Road, relived the terrifying ordeal.

She said: “I’m still in shock. It was scary but I think I was on auto-pilot during the robbery because it all happened so quickly. I’ve tried not to think about it all too much so I don’t break down.

“After Jeffrey went to the hospital I came in at 5am to sort out the papers and I opened up the store at 6am. At 6.40am I was bending down behind the counter and I heard the alarm go, but I thought it was just one of the regular customers.