A hero shopkeeper came to the rescue of a colleague and “smacked in the gob” an attempted robber who tried to steal a pack of Foster’s beer.
CCTV video captured the moment Billy Maher, 62, sprinted and tackled the balaclava-clad man at the Nisa Local in Peterborough.
A staff member had tried to stop the would-be robber making off with the Foster’s beer and slammed him into an ice-cream container.
It was while the staff member was then taking punches from the man in the balaclava that Mr Maher intervened with a couple of blows that sent the offender packing.
The would-be robber, wearing a black puffer coat and black gloves, ran off with his accomplice who had held the door open for him.
Billy and his team then ran for cover as the glass door to the shop was smashed in with a hammer, covering the first member of staff in glass as he sat on the shop floor.
Billy said: “The adrenalin kicks in and you think of your staff’s safety. I got hold of him and I had to smack him round the gob. It was scary.”
Police are now looking for a man in connection with the incident at the Nisa Local on April 8 at 8.30pm.
It comes after a spate of burglaries over the Easter weekend and two men were seen trying doors of houses, cars, and searching sheds across Walton, Werrington, Milking Nook and Newborough.
Police are appealing for CCTV, video doorbells and witnesses who saw anything.
An image has been released by Cambridgeshire Constabulary of a man they would like to speak to in connection with the attempted robbery at the Nisa Local in Peterborough.
The force stated: “The incident happened at about 8.30pm on Saturday, 8 April, at the Nisa Local store, in Walton, Peterborough.
“A man wearing a balaclava entered and picked up a crate of beer while another man held the door open for him.
“The men were spotted and challenged by shopkeepers who managed to wrestle the man with the beers to the floor, causing him to drop the crate. The second man holding the door smashed the windows with a hammer, allowing both men to escape.
“Anyone who witnessed the incident or who has any information is urged to contact us via our webchat or on 101 quoting crime reference number 35/26218/23 or by visiting our website.”