A 77-year-old grandmother has sustained injuries to the head after being sent tumbling to the ground in a confrontation with a pro-Palestine man.
Pauline Durant had been supporting her husband, Paul, who has been on hunger strike for 34 days, protesting the injustice he sees between cuts being made to the winter fuel allowance for pensioners while illegal migrants are housed in heated hotels.
A video posted to social media shows a man approaching Paul, his wife and their pensioner friends sat at the site of the daily protest, where Paul flies British, English and Israeli flags.
After what appears to have been an aggressive exchange, Pauline can be heard shouting: “Move, now!”.
The man responds: “No!” A physical tussle then ensues and Pauline sent to the ground, banging her head on the pavement.
The grandmother tells GB News she regrets the exchange: “I felt totally threatened, but I made a big mistake there kicking him and swearing”.
A physical tussle then ensued and 77 year old Pauline Durant was sent to the ground, banging her head on the pavement
Pauline has made a public apology for her involvement and says police are trying to locate the other man in the video.
Paul, 78, says he was shaken by the exchange: “It was frightening. That was the worst incident I’ve had since I’ve been down there. The guy came out of nowhere.”
But more than a month without food had left the grandfather frail and less able to intervene: “I’m starting to feel weaker now and I haven’t got the same amount of ‘go’ as I used to.”
Paul took to Blackpool seafront in August vowing not to eat until the Government got a handle on illegal immigration and reversed proposals to cut pensioner benefits.
Last month the grandfather had been harangued by a young Palestine protester who menaced him with chants of “f*** Israel”.
This incident however, resulting in injury to his beloved wife has given Paul cause for concern: “It makes me fearful of continuing my protest.”
Paul Durant has been on hunger strike for 34 days, protesting the winter fuel allowance for pensioners
Pensive of the tolerant Britain the retiree once knew, he sighed: “You never know what you’re going to encounter any time you’re out. People used to disagree and walk away, parting amicably. Now people want to push their way of thinking on us.”
He added: “There were people out, walking past. Nobody came to help.”
Paul yearns for the thriving community Blackpool once knew. He remembers an established Jewish presence that has all but vanished. He flies the Israeli flag daily next to his Union Jack, which represents his sadness at what has been lost and his solidarity with persecuted Jews across the world.
The pensioner was incredulous at how articulating his opinion on the state of the country could invite such aggression, saying: “These people do not like me flying my Israeli flag. In Blackpool we had a strong Jewish community with all sorts of businesses – we have none now. These people do not like Jewish people – that is racism, isn’t it?”
Paul says he abhors political violence and wants to be left alone to peacefully protest: “I don’t go confronting Palestinian people flying their flag. We’re supposed to live in a free country.”
Reflecting on the challenges presented to those trying to speak their mind in modern Britain, the pensioner then corrects himself: “No, we don’t live in a free country”.
The hunger striking pensioner has vowed he will not eat until Labour abandon their proposal to cut winter fuel payments for pensioners.
Pauline worries about the strain the protest is taking on her husband’s health: “I find the protest is very upsetting. I think we’re too old for it but Paul is a very determined man. I want him to slow down and stop.”
Yet she is not in the business of telling her husband what to do, countering: “We’re independent. We’ve been married 57 years and it works.”
The grandmother added: “It all depends on Tuesday. If the vote {on cutting winter fuel payments} goes our way, he will eat.”
Lancashire police did not respond to a request for comment.
Source Agencies
