Moment quick-thinking worker traps machete robbers inside shop

West Midlands Police are hunting two men after a hero shop worker managed to thwart two machete-wielding criminals who tried to rob his store in Birmingham.

The incident occurred in the Smethwick area of the city earlier in April, when a gang entered the off-licence, carrying large knives and threatening staff.

CCTV footage of the attempted robbery showed one of the masked men calling for the till to be emptied while also threatening to stab the shopkeeper. As the grim scene unfolded, another member of the gang was captured on camera taking items off the shelves.

However, seemingly disregarding the imminent danger he was in, a member of staff dashed from behind the counter, disorientated two of the robbers by smashing two bottles of wine on the floor, and ran out of the shop. In an act of quick-thinking brilliance, the shop worker trapped the thieves inside the store by pulling hard on the door handle.

One of the knife-wielding robbers tried to force his way out of the shop, but a passer-by wearing a motorcycle helmet came to the aid of the shop worker and began to pull at the door handle too.

An unarmed man who claimed to be an innocent bystander was pleading with the shop owner to let him out, but the robber then began to threaten him with the machete.

He then started trying to smash his way out of the shop using the huge knife. The self-proclaimed bystander is then ushered away by the main assailant.

The suspects were later able to scarper via a bathroom window. West Midlands Police are hunting them.

Owner of the Taas Express store, Rajasingam Tharshiya, said one of the suspects managed to escape before he was able to close the door, but the other two were trapped inside.

Describing the shocking episode, he said: “These two lads came in with knives and started demanding money from my staff. He had the presence of mind to run from behind the counter and out of the door, one of them just beat him to the door and ran away.

“The other guy trapped inside started banging on the glass and the third man I believe was also with them, as they both escaped out of the bathroom window together.

“It’s almost like the man with the knife tries to take him as a fake hostage at one point to get my staff to try and open the door. Some other neighbours came to help pull the door shut – they were very brave, as he smashed up the windows.

“The police arrived while they were still inside, but were reluctant to go inside for some reason. At that point, they squeezed out of the bathroom window.

“It is very frightening this can happen, and our worker was very shaken up but luckily unharmed.”

A police spokesman said: “We were called just before 7pm on 18 April to reports of a disorder at a shop on Bearwood Road, Smethwick. A shop worker was threatened with a knife and offenders attempted to take items from the store.

“The shop worker, along with members of the public, attempted to lock the offenders in the store to prevent them from fleeing the scene. During this, the front door of the store was smashed.

“A boy, aged 17, was arrested on suspicion of robbery and has since been bailed pending further enquiries.”