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WHO'S THE GRANDADDY?
Amazing moment three elderly have-a-go heroes with combined age of 229 tackle a prolific burglar to the ground
The brave OAPs have been branded the 'Three Musketeers' after taking down the thief
THIS is the incredible moment three elderly have-a-go heroes with a combined age of 229 tackled a prolific burglar to the ground.
The brave trio were returning from lunch when Peter Mueller opened the front door to find Stephen Ward with a bag of jewellery.
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The 70-year-old - flanked by relatives Adly Gorrafa, 81, and Sheila Gorrafa, 78 - threw themselves at Ward and wrestled him to the ground without hesitation.
Dramatic footage shows the OAPs pinning Ward down as emergency services turn up to take the serial burglar away.
The bloodied pensioners - branded the Three Musketeers for their bravery - simply dusted themselves down following the amazing incident despite suffering minor injuries after Ward lashed out at them.
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Ward, of Heanor, had been wanted by cops for 18 months before he was eventually caught in June.
He was jailed for 27 months at Derby Crown Court on Friday.
Derbyshire Constabulary's Chief Constable Mick Creedon has handed the heroes a Derbyshire Constabulary Award and praised them for "remarkable bravery".
Peter was visiting the house, which belonged to his late mother-in-law, from his home in Germany when he stumbled across the thief.
He returned to England to receive the award and said he was running on adrenaline on the dramatic day in June.
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The retired bank director added: When I opened the door, in the middle of the house was standing the burglar with a bag in his hand.
"He was astonished as the door opened.
"He starts to spring out with the bag and, when he went to run past, us we stopped him."
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He continued: "I took one leg of his so he fell down, and all three of us go on his body and hold him. We cried to the neighbours to call the police.
"When I saw this person, I was full of adrenaline and so we took him down on the ground.
"I'm 70 years old and the other two people were 78 and 81. With our weight, he had no chance to escape."
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The other two heroes, who live in America, were not able to visit Derbyshire for the ceremony but their niece, Helen Slater, and Mr Mueller's wife, Alison Tyler-Mueller, accepted the awards on their behalf.
Chief Constable Creedon said: "We give these commendations out but we don't give them out lightly.
"They are often given for the bravery of police officers but we do sometimes give them out to members of the public.
"We get paid to do our job but for this kind of event to happen it means that the public have put themselves at risk.
"This was a remarkable event and came at some risk but without your help we wouldn't have caught this man."
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