Video of grandmother caught in shop shutters goes viral, immortalized with spray-paint mural

A viral incident in which a grandmother was hoisted into the air by a store’s security shutters has been immortalized in a spray-painted mural.

Anne Hughes, 71, stood outside the Best One convenience store in Rhondda Cynon Taf with her coat stuck in the blinds and she was lifted 7ft in the air.

The moment was captured on CCTV and went viral after the owner shared it on social media.

Now it has been immortalized in a mural spray-painted on the shutters by graffiti artist Tee2Sugars.

The 33-year-old, from the nearby village of Tonley Fell, said the shop owner asked him to paint the piece.

“I had seen the video a long time ago and my wife and I laughed. So when I saw the message asking me to draw it I immediately said yes,” he told Sky News.

The father-of-two went out at 10pm on Thursday and spent two and a half hours spray-painting the mural with his bare hands, referring to CCTV images.

“she [Anne] Be happy with the results, that’s the most important thing.I think she has found it [the whole situation] It’s really fun and it’s all a good sport,” he said.

The graffiti artist has been painting for about 15 years, but turned his hobby into a full-time career after losing his job as a graphic designer during the coronavirus pandemic.

Since then he has created murals all over the world, some of which have achieved fame online and in the media.

He said about 30 to 40 people attended the unveiling of his latest mural.

He added: “In places like Rhondda Cynon Taf and other small villages nearby, things don’t often go viral so I think everyone is enjoying the spotlight. fun of.”

The incident happened as Ms Hughes, who works as a cleaner, was standing outside the store waiting for it to open when the electric blinds were raised and her coat got stuck.

The video showed her hanging upside down and being rescued by a shopkeeper who held her in his arms as the blinds slowly lowered.

Speaking at her home near the Best One store in Tontag, near Pontypridd, Ms Hughes said she thought “oh my God”.

Read more from Sky News:
Police raid funeral home to ‘contact all families’
New appeal launched for woman missing for 10 days

“Luckily I have a good sense of humour,” said Ms Hughes, who was known as “Super Annie” in her native Wales.

She said: “I had been falling for the past six months or so and doctors at the hospital thought it was due to low blood pressure – which was rising at the time.”

“I’m learning to live with the fame. I’ll never hear the end of it,” Ms Hughes added.

“The blinds were fully open and I screamed his [the shopkeeper’s] Thankfully, he stepped out, lowered the shutter slightly, and managed to hold me in his arms.

“I just remember saying to him ‘grab my head’ – I was worried I was going to fall and I pointed to the floor.”

But while Ms Hughes said she was shocked by the incident, she was not injured.