The Sunderland residents who came out in their dozens - and their pyjamas - to foil a burglar
‘They were armed with broom handles, shovels and even a can of hairspray’
Meet the 30 fantastic residents of one Sunderland street who all jumped into action in their pyjamas - and some wearing even less - when a brazen ‘thief’ struck in their neighbourhood.
The locals of Nursery Road in Silksworth were not going to let the intruder get away lightly 33 years ago this month.
The culprit was chased by up to 30 pyjama-clad residents, as reported by the Sunderland Echo at the time.
Our story from June 1993 said: “The have-a-go-heroes took to the streets to flush out the would-be-thief who had hidden in a garden in Nursery Road, in Silksworth.
“More than 30 residents, some who were wearing nothing more than boxer shorts to hide their modesty, decided to hunt down the intruder.
“They were armed with broom handles, shovels and even a can of hairspray. Most of the residents had come out and were looking for a burglar.”
We would love to know if you were one of the people who came to the rescue back then. Get in touch and tell us more.
To give you more of a reminder of the news on Wearside back then, all of this was happening.
Youngsters helped make a mosaic in St Patrick’s Garth in the East End of Sunderland.
It was made from coloured glass tiles and featuring a dragon, palm trees and fish, and the mosaic could be used to play marbles and other games.
Work was under way on a new supermarket warehouse in Washington which would provide jobs for 300 people. It was being built by Asda on the Pattinson Industrial Estate and was expected to be completed by October 1993.
Sunderland had its first pub where you can pay for your beer with plastic. The Ashbrooke in Stannington Grove is testing pre-payment cashcards with mini-microchips embedded in them.
Crowds gathered to witness the final minutes of Gilley Law’s 200-ft chimney which had marked the skyline of the estate for around 30 years since it was built to service the heating system for surrounding high rise flats.
Wearside office workers Marie Robson and Tracey Usher thought they were going quackers when they popped out for lunch and were met by five wayward ducklings and their mum in High Street West in Sunderland.
Ten thousand Wearside dogs were registered on a free Sunderland City Council scheme within five months. Owners received a numbered disc for their pooch in the attempt to cut down on numbers of strays.
Get in touch if you remember any of these stories, and especially if you were one of the 30-plus Silksworth residents who fought back against a burglar in their pyjamas.
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