Boxing pensioner batters knife-wielding burglar

A burglar got more than he bargained for when, brandishing a six-inch knife, he forced his way into the home of a 72-year-old man. Rather than turning and running as many would have done, pensioner Frank Corti used the boxing skills he learned in the army and felled the 23-year-old intruder "like a sack of spuds".

Corti's right hook and a nifty jab left Gregory McCalium nursing a black eye and thick lip. Corti then restrained McCalium until police arrived. McCalium, a barman, was convicted of aggravated burglary and jailed for four-and-a-half years at Oxford crown court.

Recorder Angela Morris told McCalium he "got what he deserved". She said: "Luckily, Mr Corti was an able-bodied 72-year-old who was able to defend himself. The elderly and vulnerable people are entitled to demand the protection of courts from people like you who decide to enter a property with a weapon."


Photos from here.

After the hearing Corti said: "We are pleased he won't be troubling us for a few years. My old training must have kicked in because I just punched him as hard as I could and he went down like a sack of spuds. If you can't defend what's yours, where are we at?"

John Simmons, defending, told the court Corti's house looked like "a murder scene" when police arrived. He added: "Photographs of the defendant showed what looked like a car accident."

Speaking outside court, Detective Constable Jon Shaw, of Thames Valley police, said: "I hope that the victim, and his wife, might now be able to put this ordeal behind them and get on with their lives."