A HEROIC newsagent used a wooden bat to fight off masked yobs who tried to rob cash from his till.
Brave Stewart Evans, 57, laughed in the face of the armed raiders before launching his incredible counter-attack.
Amazing CCTV images of the incident show the crooks looking shocked by Stewart's onslaught before fleeing empty handed.
Click on the video window (right) to see the footage
It is the third time in two years that the newsagent has battled armed thugs at his Middleton Junction shop and come out on top.
Stewart, who has crippling arthritis and relies on a walking stick, said: “They didn't get away with anything - apart from a few lumps on their heads. When I first saw them come in I thought 'not again'. But as long as I've got my trusty bat with me I'm not bothered.
“There are too many of these goons about and you've got to stand up for yourself. What else are you going to do? Ask them to help themselves while you go and brew up?"
The two thugs entered F and SG Evans, on Grimshaw Lane, on Saturday at 6.25am as Stewart was laying out his morning papers.
One man demanded cash from the till, causing the newsagent to first laugh and then produce a bat, which he hit the robber over the head with.
The second man then approached the newsagent and started lashing out at him with a chain, but Stewart fought back and caught him with two blows to the head.
Both startled attackers then ran off as a regular customer walked in. Stewart suffered only slight injuries in the incident.
Two men of similar descriptions to the attackers were seen trying to break in to a garage on nearby Sedgley Street about five minutes later. Police are treating the two incidents as linked.
Stewart, from Royton, successfully defended his shop on two occasions in 2006. He fought off a gang of masked yobs wielding samurai swords after they burst into his shop in March.
In August, Stewart and his pensioner mum Florence Evans battled thugs brandishing a knife and metal bar.
Both sets of robbers left with nothing.
The first man in the latest attack is described as about 6ft, large build and wearing a black jacket and a balaclava.
The second offender is described as a white male, thin build and wearing a grey hooded top with a black hat.
Anyone with information on the attempted robbery is asked to call Greater Manchester Police on 0161 872 5050 or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.
Click on the video window to see the footage
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Good for you Stewart, but please be careful. We need more people like you prepared to stand up to these scumbags, and less of those who take pity - "aw he was such a nice lad but had a tough time as a kid " b'##'s
In Wales, he'd be forever known as 'Evans the Bat' - excellent work, sir!
And before the 'Weary Willies' chip in... of course he won't be prosecuted for defending himself.
A brilliant display of self- defence. Scrotes like that deserve a good hiding.
good on you
Stewart Evans for Chief Constable!
He would get my vote.
Well done Stewart, Bring back the Birch for these brain dead imbeciles.
Pippa, Manchester
We are supossed to have laws in britain to detere this sort of behaviour.But it dosnt but we need to get back to birching this scum who have nothing to do with their time only think of ways of getting money without working.Make the unemployed work full time for their benefits doing community work aqnd cleaning leaves up ect .this way it would serve two purposes one it would make them a more responsible citizen by if they have to clean the mess up they would not make a mess of their surroundings..we have become to liberal in britain.TIME FOR A CHANGE.
He WAS right to threaten in this way;if it saves his business good on him,the dogooding police would say"phone us first",problem is they'd arrive and the theives would have vanished.
Well done Steward..!!!
Hope the footage is shown on tv soon - it would give the intended attackers something to brag about!! Stay strong....
Good on you, sir!
I'm surprised the Police haven't arrested you for using an offensive weapon against the poor innocent robbers theugh.
I liked the way he tackled these divs, but don't forget to use the back hand motion and the forward jab if it happens again.
Ace Shakespear - love your way of thinking....I'm right behind you!
Well done mate. Now get into the gym, have some baseball bat swinging lessons and next time, try and knock 'em out cold!
Stewart well done a man should be able to protect his livelihood if attacked by thugs like this; I do hope that you weren’t badly injured.
Why don’t you invite them back for a rematch with some of your mates (and no hoodies this time?) we would all like to see them get their a----s kicked
The big problem with this poor guy,is the police and our legal system would back the theives before the crminals.If any of these theives were to get badly injured they would get compensation.We are too liberal in britain we need real deterents/laws/enforcements.The birch would be the place to start then the death penalty to send a message out to scum like these two that if they cause death or even maim a innocent person they could face the death peanlty ,this is the only thing these monsters understand "VIOLENCE".So rather than allow them to be the bully lets give the laws and the police their powers back and allow the police to bully this scum we call criminals.
Can you imagine how much money that man would have had in his till at that time of thr morning? The float perhaps of around £30!
Why are people so enthusiastic to kill and maim for so little benefit?
These kind of problems are brought about by the society we live in. Poor parenting, poor education and poor moral standards. Yet all we get from the police and MP's is attention-grabing headlines of crackdown for this and crackdowns for that.
I have been hearing such tripe all my life while the real causes grow ever more septic.
There is another side to this. These would-be thieves were probably desperate and destitute. It’s possible they were suffering from bad parenting and a deprived childhood. They may have even been tormented by drug withdrawal at the time. It is the fault of society (and that means all of us) that is letting these poor lads down. It’s easy to blame them but they are also human beings who deserve our understanding and help at such difficult times in their lives.
If Mr Evans had injured them they could, quite rightly, have sued him. Indeed the police might have arrested Mr Evans for using such aggressive force in these circumstances. After all, he knew that his shop was vulnerable and should have taken steps to prevent such a robbery. Before using his stick as a weapon he could have asked them politely to leave. Laughing at them was a silly thing to do because it humiliated them and gave cause to unhappiness which shown itself in anger.
We can all learn from this episode and we should all make more of an effort to facilitate and support the under-class in our society by not overreacting with resentment and fury at these unfortunate people who are forced to rob, probably, because of the economic situation, they cannot get a job.
Wait for the "Well M'Lud there is clear evidence on video of my client being attacked by the shopkeeper"
Frostee, you support these scumbags and support the police in arresting people threatening those who make threats against the thieves and/or defend themselves from these animals by self-defence whether with a weapon or otherwise, you're a dogooder! I support people like this shopkeeper who stick up for themselves when confronted with thieves and make them run and I support a change in the law to allow this to happen where people like him don't get arrested for such conduct whether it be threatening behaviour or actual assault towards thieves and/or thugs. These toerags' humanrights SHOULDN'T count;the victims should come first EVERY TIME.
Frostee - That's got to be one of the most hilarious postings I've read on here for a long time. It almost, but not quite, comes over as if your being serious, which makes it all the more funny. Cheers - you've brightened up my day no end!
Frostee:
"Before using his stick as a weapon he could have asked them politely to leave."
Ha, Ha, Ha,
My sides are splitting!!!
Lucky the GMP didnt prosecute the shopkeeper for infringing the theiving scumbag's human rights
Frostee, that post was ironic, wasn't it?
Great post Frostee. Some don't see the humour in irony though, sadly. Well done Mr Shopkeeper.
I wouldn't like to give even the slightest impression that I condone violence in any way, but I wish he'd have broken the bat over their heads!
Frostee - don't suppose that you work in Social Care by any chance? If not you should, you would go far in Child Protection.
Honestly, get real - nobody, regardless of their upbringing, drug use etc has the right to threaten, intimidate or hurt anyone else. End of.