‘Rotten devils’ took my walking stick at Collier Row shop – Leslie, 89
Leslie William Bone, 89, with his replacement walking stick. - Credit: Archant
An 89-year-old man was over the moon when the walking stick he has had for 25 years was returned to him after being stolen.
Leslie Bone’s stick was taken by a woman in her 20s, leaving him holding his shopping at Tesco Metro, Collier Row Lane, on New Year’s Eve.
But on Sunday, it appeared at the headquarters of the Collier Row Old Age Pensioners’ Club – of which Leslie is chairman – in North Romford Community Centre, Clockhouse Lane.
Leslie, of Avelon Road, Collier Row, said: “I think one of the members might have seen it and got it back.
“I haven’t had a chance to ask yet, I’m just glad to have my stick.”
You may also want to watch:
He had been using a replacement since the incident, but was desperate for the return of the original because of its sentimental value.
He said: “It’s a wooden stick I got on my holiday and I stuck all my badges on it.”
Most Read
- 1 Hundreds of shoppers queue outside Primark in Romford as restrictions ease
- 2 Top Havering pubs open with beer gardens
- 3 Mayoral election 2021: how will candidates improve east London?
- 4 Heritage: Mystery of the moated mound on Romford Hill
- 5 Plans submitted for Rainham Lidl
- 6 Romford mum's success setting up children's clothing business amid pandemic
- 7 Four weeks' free parking for Havering shoppers as high streets reopen
- 8 Police unit for 'high-harm' crimes tackles hike in domestic incidents
- 9 Covid-19: What's opening and what can you do on April 12?
- 10 New Harrow Lodge Leisure Centre set to open
It was taken when a woman approached him and offered him a pound for a trolley which still contained his money – and his walking stick.
She then disappeared into the store with three men.
Leslie said: “They didn’t seem to have a need for the stick. I thought when they realised they would hand it into the store, but they didn’t. They are rotten devils.”
He described the woman as between 25 and 30.
“She said ‘I’ll take that trolley’ and walked off,” he explained. “I didn’t shout. I was dumbstruck.
“I had my shopping so I couldn’t run after them as I was on my own.”
