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Punched in face for a few pounds
A MAN who was punched in
the face and robbed at a Winchester
cashpoint was on his
way to A&E having been
knocked unconscious just the
night before.
Christopher Thomas, 44,
had stopped off to withdraw
some money last Saturday
morning before visiting Winchester's
Royal Hampshire
County Hospital to get himself
checked out, following an
assault by his son, who suffers
from Asperger's Syndrome, a
form of autism.
But as he and his partner,
Gloria Alcozer, 52, withdrew
£30 at the Nat West cashpoint
in Andover Road, he was
struck in the face without
warning by a man, who
grabbed the cash and ran off.
Miss Alcozer managed to
get in the way of the robber
and grab him, but the man
pulled away and ran towards
the city centre.
She said: "Can you imagine
being struck by your son, then
the very next day, innocently
going to a cash point and
being robbed and struck
again in the head?
"We're not rich, or for that
matter middle class. We
moved to Hampshire to get
help for Christopher's son,
help we desperately needed.
"We didn't come here to be
afraid, we didn't come to be
subjected to violence and robbery."
Mr Thomas suffered mild
concussion in the street
assault, a black eye and bruising
to his nose and cheek.
He said: "I heard someone
shout something to me to the
effect of give me your
money', and I was hit without
any warning.
"I was knocked silly and he
ran off with the money. A
number of people picked me
up and came to my aid, for
which I am extremely grateful."
H
e continued: "I understand
from witnesses that the
man had something on his
hand wrapped up, possibly a
knuckle-duster.
"If the punch had been an
inch higher it could have
blinded me, and an inch lower
it could have taken teeth out.
I am very lucky.
"Gloria has been amazing
throughout. I think it has
been more of a shock to her
than me.
"We went to another cashpoint
the day after the attack,
but Gloria got very upset, so
we went into a supermarket
and got cashback instead.
"You cannot let these people
get to you and change the
way you live your life, otherwise
they have won."
Addressing his attacker, Mr
Thomas, from Abbotts Ann,
near Andover, said: "You didn't
have to do this.
"If someone came up to me
and issued a threat, I would
have given them the money.
"It was £30, it was not worth
fighting for. This person is not
the only one with problems. If
you were desperate for
money, you didn't have to be
violent about it, it was totally
unnecessary.
"They say you should forgive
and forget, but I cannot
consider forgiving for that
sort of thing until I understand
why it was done."
Police are now appealing
for anyone in the area
between 11.30am and 12 noon
who may have seen the robbery
or the assailant running
off, to come forward.
The robber is described as
white, aged between 25 and
35, around 6ft tall, of muscular
build, with short brown
hair.
Acting inspector Mark
Fuller, of Winchester Police,
said: "This type of crime is
very rare in Winchester but
we're dealing with it very
seriously.
"There's a suspect on
CCTV but we're having difficult
establishing identity.
The person was quite conscious
of the camera."
Anyone with information
should call Winchester Priority
Crime Team on 0845 045 45
45, or Crimestoppers anonymously
on 0800 555 111.
10:31am Thursday 3rd July 2008
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CommentPosted by: Barry W. Thomas, Rushden, Northamptonshire on 10:25am Mon 7 Jul 08
Chris Thomas is my son. He has spent almost his entire career working for Charities. For the past 5 years he has worked in London for Addaction which helps people with drug and alcohol problems. The thug who assaulted and robbed him was not to know this, but it still makes me angry that he should be treated in such an appalling way. If you can help the police to
catch this robber so that he cannot do this to other innocent people, please contact them.
Chris Thomas is my son. He has spent almost his entire career working for Charities. For the past 5 years he has worked in London for Addaction which helps people with drug and alcohol problems. The thug who assaulted and robbed him was not to know this, but it still makes me angry that he should be treated in such an appalling way. If you can help the police to
catch this robber so that he cannot do this to other innocent people, please contact them.
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