Mugging victim, 101, thanks Londoners after fundraising drive

Recovering: retired nurse Alexteen Roberts at home
Alex Lentati
Matt Watts|John Dunne @jhdunne22 September 2016
WEST END FINAL

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A 101-year-old woman who was mugged on her own doorstep today thanked “kind-hearted” Londoners who pledged thousands of pounds to help her overcome the ordeal.

Retired nurse Alexteen Roberts was returning home from a prayer meeting when she was targeted just outside her front door in Tottenham.

She told police she was robbed on August 23 by a man who pushed her to the floor, grabbed her handbag and fled with £300 in cash.

Her ordeal shocked Londoners and people around the world. A number of funds were set up online calling for donations to help her.

The first collection of £1,240 was delivered to her this week. Well over £1,000 has been pledged in other online fundraising drives.

Recovering: retired nurse Alexteen Roberts with her granddaughter Jackie McIntosh
Alex Lentati

Mrs Roberts told the Standard: “It’s really thoughtful that people have raised money.

“People were so generous and I just want to say thank you to all of them for being so kind-hearted. It’s really helped me get over what happened and show me there is still so much good in London and the world.”

Her family are using some of the money to increase security at Mrs Roberts’ flat following the mugging, which took place weeks before her 101st birthday. She is fearful of going out alone and has been pickpocketed and mugged in the past.

Jay Kast, 30, a youth worker and community activist from east London, launched his appeal to help Mrs Roberts after reading about the mugging on the front page of the Standard.

The appeal on website GoFundMe was shared hundreds of times on social media, and donations from as far afield as America and Africa helped smash the £300 target in a few hours and raise £1,240.

Mr Kast delivered the money to Mrs Roberts on Monday with her grandson Nathan McIntosh and it has since gone into her bank account.

He said: “She was so shocked by people’s generosity. She couldn’t believe it but I told her how the story had shocked so many people. We wanted to show her the world wasn’t a bad place and to get her back on her feet.”

Of the mugging, Mrs Roberts said: “He grabbed my bag and I resisted him and fought back. The next thing I knew I was on the floor. I really thought the worst.”

She shouted for her grandson Ashley who was in her flat. She said her attacker then fled with her bag.

Mrs Roberts first worked as a nurse and then a seamstress after coming to live in London from Jamaica in 1954. The centenarian, who has 24 great-grandchildren, has returned to church, and still goes shopping on her own following her ordeal.

Her granddaughter Deborah Roberts said: “She’s amazing. She was down and it had made her a little shaky and scared in the days after but she’s not let it defeat her.

“It’s really helped her in her recovery that people have been so generous in this way. It’s really restored all of our faith in humanity.”

Jawad Naser, 37, of Tottenham, appeared at Highbury magistrates’ court last Thursday charged with robbery. He was remanded in custody and will appear at Wood Green crown court on October 13.

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