Woman nabbed for 'senseless' stiletto ATM attack

A 39-year-old woman was cautioned by police after she unleashed what officers described as a "senseless" attack on an ATM. The woman, who has not been named, was caught on CCTV approaching the device in Market Place, Chippenham, removing one of her stilettos and striking the dumb beast almost 50 times with the pointy shoe. …

[Anonymous Coward]

Gobsmacked

I'm. Just. Speechless.

Utterly aghast.

Is it something in the water, these days?

These people can't even be described as the spawn of Satan or evil. Because THEY would have better things to do with their time.

[Intractable Potsherd]

Whoa, Craiggy ...

... that is serious overreaction. Someone hit an inanimate object - not good, but certainly not as bad as you are painting it. Save those terms for people that really deserve it, eh?

[John Lilburne]

With that degree ferocity one can only assume someone had stuck a picture of George Osbourne over the front of the ATM.

[Elmer Phud]

As it's from the Telegraph I'd have thought they'd recognise a popular Middle Eastern form of showing displeasure.

Either that or the argument about 'sandal' or 'gourd' still hasn't been settled.

[Anonymous Coward]

Techno Rage

The age old story, mind a bit harsh from Chippenham police. To be fair she should get a commendation. I can only think she is expressing her disapproval of the outrageous bonus culture prevalent in modern day banking.

[Anonymous Coward]

Really?

I work in a bank, and the last I noticed, I had:

- no bonus

- no pay rise

- less benefits

- more responsibility (as most of my colleagues get outsourced - poorly - to India)

- more paperwork

- industry average pay

- more tax

- and finally, more hours and stress (mainly from having to integrity-check ATM's, vandalised by narrow-minded tossers who think that everyone who works at a bank is a bonus-swilling rogue trader with zero morals.

Outrageous bonus culture? Only for the privileged few...just like in every other blue chip.

[Anonymous Coward]

That you are only a cog in an evil machine

does not make the machine any less evil.

-Fellow cog in a different evil machine with most of the same disadvantages.

[Mips]

Unlike some

You are lucky to have a job!

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Unlike some

>You are lucky to have a job

I never consider myself lucky to have a job. I consider my employer lucky that I am working for them.

[sebacoustic]

expensive night out

paying out for the damage on the ATM as well as all that booze she clearly must have had...

[Alain Moran]

Never mind being caught on CCTV, I would imagine they have her bank details already anyway!

[LuMan]

Not an attack...

..she just wanted to show the bank she had a sole....

..yep, I'm off.

[I'm Brian and so's my wife]

Offense is the best defence

It was just a pre-emptive strike before they rise up. When will the authorities realise the danger we're all in?

[Silverburn]

Was she called...

...Sarah Connor?

No wonder she was so buff in T2 - she'd been working out by smashing every ATM in America...

[My Alter Ego]

Oh, that kind of stiletto

I've been reading too many Bond books recently.

[Ted Treen]

Obviously a simple sole, down on her uppers who now feels a bit of a heel.

I suppose she could stand for election - and it would be a shoe-in...

Coat & Taxi please...

[Tom 13]

Better make it an armored taxi

Possibly with escort. Just in case all those people who want you to put a sock in it catch up with you.

[Anonymous Coward]

Police described the incident as "senseless and inane"

A nice example of how the police and the ruling classes appear to be completely out of touch with the mood of the population and the average Joe (or Joanna) in the street.

"Futile" would be a better description but her actions are understandable - somebody has to stand up to the rise of the machines and faceless bankers that rule her world.

[Anonymous Coward]

Never mind the Blahniks

If I was down at heel I'd want to give the banks a proper shoeing too.

[Doogs]

Self checkout machines

Always feel like smashing those things. Every time I've tried to use one in Sainsburys or B&Q, they've gone wrong. EVERY SINGLE TIME.

Sorry. I feel better now. :)

[IT veteran]

Win 2000

That's probably because they run Windows 2000. No, really...

[Tom 13]

2000? They've upgraded?

I thought those things were only certified for NT4.*

* with no network connection.

[HipposRule]

PCI compliance

Should mean they must be running a supported OS so 2000 is out.

[Anonymous Coward]

Co-incidentally never visited either of these since they installed the bloody things. Found other (non mega-brand) places to buy everything I used to get from them.

[Just Thinking]

Those things really aren't fair on customers or staff.

There is nothing inherently wrong with self service, but they have gone well over the top with security and age checks. Sure if I buy beer somebody has to verify that I am old enough *at some point* before I pay and leave - but why does the till stop me scanning any other items while I am waiting?

Removing a carrier bag trips the weight sensor, and again everything stops until the assistant turns up.

Putting one member of staff in charge of 12 busy tills is ridiculous, and tells you all you need to know about why the reasons for these tills.

That's before you take into account the other customers who can't scan things, or have crammed 50 items into a basket, or decide to let their toddler scan the shopping when the queue is 20 deep.

So in summary, swing things slightly from security to convenience, and arrange for anyone who takes longer than 3 mins* to be automatically tasered, and they would be fine.

*Excluding time when the light is flashing of course.

[Anonymous Coward]

These boots* were made for beating

* stretching the point there, I know.

[g4dge]

Why did they need to appeal for people to recognize her? Surely they had the time and date from the CCTV, which would correlate to the card she had inserted (presumably remonstrating due to either cash not coming out, or card not coming back!)

[Sarah Davis]

Rise of the cash machines

as el Reg has often informed us, some 'harmless' inanimate machines are planning revolution. This looks like a pre-emptive strike (perhaps she's american).

I only counted her hitting it 10 times, so was the other 40 times before or after this, perhaps on some different footage, or is that just the way police count these days

[jai]

don't trust CCTV, can be easily faked

if it's not a playmobile reconstruction, it probably didn't happen

[Boring Bob]

So she has paid Barcleys for the damaged she caused yet the police are still asking the public for help identifying her ?

[Mr Young]

Error, bzzt - keyboard input error 101

If yer drunken fingers aren't working properly why not try a shoe instead? OK or Cancel?

[myob]

Fashion Fail

Looks more like a wedge to me.

[Jacqui]

wedge courts

Pics are blurry but they look like wedge heeled courts.

Jacqui

Assault with a blunt instrument? :-)

[Hatless Pemberty]

Overload Warning

Stop it!

I'm a guy. I work in IT. You're confusing me with all those technical terms for women's shoes. It's worse than PR or the offside rule. I can't handle it!

The woman is not wearing flip-flops. Therefore, she's wearing stilletos. There; that's settled.

[Duster]

Well heeled

If you search for it, you may be able to find references to an old ('70s?) case in the US where a woman swatted a would-be purse snatcher in the head with a stiletto heel. She stood trial as I recall for assault with a deadly weapon, and possibly for man slaughter. Been a while.

[Captain TickTock]

reminds me of

the youtube video of the cat and the printer..

[Jim Carter]

Bloody hell.

I'm trying to think of a shoe-based pun but I see others have already got their foot in the door...

[Anonymous Coward]

She repayed the bank

I don't suppose banks will ever repay for people for the damage *they* have caused.

[Goat Jam]

No no no no

That's not how it works.

_WE_ pay them for the damage they have caused stupid.

Now, go and sit on the naughty chair.

[Anonymous Coward]

<--- enough said!

[Mips]

Erm!

"Police said the woman has repaid the bank, Barclays, for the damage she caused."

And they still don't know who she is? The standard of the policing really has slipped.

[Nick Pettefar]

Looks and acts like my ex-wife - in her younger more violent days. I don't know why I always attract the nutters. Ah well.