Story By: Koen Berghuis, Sub-Editor: Michael Leidig, Agency:Central European News
Picture Credit: CEN
A burglar who tried to break into the house of an 84-year-old man was severely beaten up when the pensioner turned out to be a 22-time national wrestling champion.
Beefy granddad Gerrie Vogelzang was fast asleep when the doorbell rang at his flat in Amstelveen, a city in the Dutch province of North Holland just outside Amsterdam.
At first he thought that one of his mates was paying him a visit, but when Gerrie opened the door it turned out to be a robber who wanted to get inside his home.
The OAP wrestler sprang into action when the man tried to get past him, telling local media: “I said ‘bugger off nutcase’ then I gave him a few punches.
“He was on the end of two, maybe even three blows. Bam, bam, bam!”
However, the intruder did not give up and somehow managed to get into the hallway.
Gerrie then grabbed the burglar in a wrestle-hold and started to squeeze him.
He said: “I was broken myself, but I saw him completely weaken and heard him gurgling and moaning.”
Despite sustaining a few minor injuries in the scuffle, Gerrie managed to get the man out of his third-floor flat and even considered throwing him over a balcony.
Gerrie said: “At first I thought about throwing him over the edge and then I would be done with him. Because you should never feel compassion towards a rat.”
The OAP decided to spare the suspect and instead called the cops, who later arrested the man.
Gerrie explained that the burglar might have thought that he was dealing with a defenceless pensioner.
He said: “As a matter of fact I am a wrestler. I have been champion of the Netherlands 22 times!”
Last month, three suspected burglars were also surprised by a plucky resident in the Dutch city of The Hague when a young kick-boxing mum opened the door instead of an 86-year-old OAP.
Like Gerrie, amateur kick-boxer Beppie Vermeer did not hesitate and hit the thieves in their nether regions.
The mum-of-two said: “One of them could barely breathe afterwards and they quickly turned to run.”
According to Beppie, the thieves were probably watching the house of the frail 86-year-old and thought they had an easy target.
However, the plucky mum was house-sitting at the time.
