I'm not a hero, says handbag vigilante who wishes to remain anonymous after viral video shows her foiling hammer-wielding gang

A pensioner caught on video trying to prevent a smash and grab at a Northampton jewellery store has told how she "clobbered" the would-be robbers with her shopping.

Video footage, which has been shared around the world, appears to show three men using sledgehammers to smash the windows of Michael Jones Jewellers while three accomplices wait on getaway scooters. The gang had not counted on the bravery of a slightly built pensioner, however, and the clip shows her swinging her bag at the men, causing one to crash to the ground and be detained by passersby.

"I was standing talking with a woman when I heard a commotion and I looked across and saw six young men on scooters," the woman, who has not been named, told the Northampton Chronicle and Echo.

"At first I thought one of them was being set upon by three others. I was not going to stand by and watch somebody take a beating or worse, so I tried to intervene.

"What concerned me was that too many people just stood around watching as if they were in shock and nobody was doing anything."

Video footage filmed by a bystander shows the woman, clad in a long red coat and sensible brogues, jog towards the gang in Northampton town centre.

"When I got closer to them I realised it was a robbery and then I was even more angry that they felt they could get away with what they were doing in broad daylight," she said.

"I clobbered one with my shopping but he got away. The rest of them were still trying to smash and grab at the jewellery.

"I didn't know what happened next but I just kept swinging my bag."

The anonymous vigilante, who insisted she was "not a hero", said: "They then tried to escape. I landed several blows against one lad on the back of a bike and brought him to the ground."

The video shows two of the gang, clad in dark clothing and both wearing motorcycle helmets, topple from their scooter. The driver can be seen jumping up and fleeing along the street, but the man on the rear of the bike appears to turn towards his assailant.

"He raised a hammer to me," she said. "So I just kept hitting out and shouting and shouting for others to help and bring them down. Several people then came to help. It was over in what seems like seconds."

Footage shows several people running to the pensioner's aid and restraining one of the men. Three more people have been arrested in connection with the robbery.

"I'm not a hero and it was maybe foolish of me to get involved but somebody had to do something," she said.

Her actions have provoked a wealth of comment in the online community but, like many fictional crimefighting heroes, this real-life keeper of the peace is keen to preserve her anonymity.

"Now I just want to be left in peace and I feel very uncomfortable with all the press and media attention," she told the paper.

"I'm a private person and do not want any press attention and I hope that the media will respect my wishes."