Fifth Gear presenter Tiff Needell nearly lost an expensive Swiss watch to a trio of muggers. That is, until a five-foot-tall — 5'5" in stilettos — blonde packing a sharp heel and fists of fury stepped in. Lindsay Orridge, a marketing manager for Ford Motorsport, attacked the muggers and sent them scurrying, saving Tiff and his watch.
The incident happened outside the Autosport Awards show at the swank Grosvenor House Hotel on London's Park Lane this past Sunday evening, when an unidentified man walked up and shook hands with the Le Mans and F1 veteran. At first, Orridge thought it was a fan.
"One guy shook his hand, I turned to hail a cab, turned back and three guys jumped him," she said. "I realized it wasn't just a friendly fan anymore."
One of the muggers grabbed for Needell's watch, reportedly a Jaeger-Le Coultre worth approximately $8,000.
"I shouted at them to stop, Orridge said. "When they didn't respond, I thought 'I've got to get them off him!' So I kicked one guy, then hit him."
The muggers, stunned by the attack, attempted to grab the watch and flee. "The whole thing was over in minutes," she said. "They thought they had his watch and ran! Luckily he got it back at the last minute."
Of course, she must be a secret kickboxing champion or a seasoned football hooligan, or something, right?
"Never been in a fight in my life!" she said.
In the aftermath, Orridge says she didn't have a post-adrenaline "what have I done moment." "We checked he had everything, hailed another cab, hopped in and laughed about it a bit! It's just a shame there wasn't anywhere open to go get another drink!"