Photo:Vic PoliceThe
man armed with the sawn-off shotgun is seen taking aim at Mr Williams
who now has his female accomplice in a headlock inside the NAB branch
in Bellarine on Thursday
'You're not that big - I reckon I can take you down'
Bernard Williams, 75, took down two armed robbers inside a bank
The pensioner from Victoria's south-west grabbed one in a headlock
Female bandit urged her male accomplice to 'shoot him, shoot him'
Gunman pointed the shotgun at the elderly man but did not fire
He turned and fled instead to a waiting car empty-handed
The 29-year-old woman has been remanded in custody
A 75-year-old man proved too strong
and too quick for two armed bank robbers in Geelong, placing one in a
headlock and scaring the other into running away.
Bernard Williams is being hailed a
hero after stepping in to stop the heist by a gunman and a female
accomplice armed with a screwdriver at suburban Newcomb, 80 kilometres
south-west of Melbourne.
'I took another quick look at the one
standing next to me and thought "you're not that big in stature - I
reckon I can take you down" and I grabbed her around the neck and
twisted her around and put her between me and the bloke with the gun,'
Mr Williams told Radio 3AW.
The male bandit armed with the shotgun lowered his weapon and ran out of the NAB bank empty-handed
Mr Williams is seen on security vision walking towards the NAB Bank in Newcomb shortly before the hold-up
The vision from security cameras shows Mr Williams walking through the Newcomb shopping centre before the bandits arrive.
The pair is then seen striding into the
shopping centre and past the ATMs towards a bank teller, one
brandishing a sawn-off shotgun and his female accomplice has a
screwdriver in hand.
They rush to the teller's post inside the NAB branch and throw a bag onto the counter, pointing the weapons at the teller.
'They were screaming out for money and so forth,' he explained on 3AW Breakfast.
'I took a quick look and thought this must be a joke, you know? But then I thought, you don't play jokes like that at a bank.'
That's when he decided to take down one of the bandits, placing her in a headlock and wrestling her to the ground.
'I thought if he's going to shoot me, he's going to have to shoot her first.'
Mr Williams said that the woman he had hold of called out to her male accomplice with the sawn-off shotgun to shoot.
Instead he turned around and ran off to a waiting car, leaving empty handed.
Victoria Police say the wanted man drove off in a light coloured Holden Commodore sedan after fleeing the bank empty-handed
The woman was held down by Mr Williams and another bank customer until security and police arrived on scene.
Victoria Police issued a statement on Friday after releasing the surveillance vision.
'Armed Crime Squad detectives continue to investigate an alleged armed robbery in Newcomb yesterday,' they reported.
'The alleged armed robbery took place at a financial institution on Bellarine Highway about 3pm.
'A 29-year-old Geelong woman has been charged with armed robbery and appeared in Geelong Magistrates' Court today.
'Police continue to search for the man involved in the incident and a grey or light- coloured VN Holden Commodore Sedan.'
The 29-year-old woman has been remanded in custody to appear again on June 10.
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