Man takes on thief in knife terror
Householder foils break-in
A BRAVE homeowner who took on a group of armed car thieves was almost stabbed.
A loud bang in the early hours of yesterday shocked Noel Warren out of bed in his Mount Low home.
Mr Warren was already on edge.
On Sunday about 9.30am, he was in his backyard.
His wife was setting up their Christmas decorations, when a man crept into their home through an open roller door.
They caught him in the act, in their kitchen.
Mr Warren said he yelled “hey a---hole, what are you doing inside the house, get out of the house”.
The man bolted and Mr Warren gave chase with a spanner in hand, throwing it at the man’s getaway car as he sped off down the street.
He had got away with a handbag, two sets of car keys and a wallet. Mr Warren knew that he would be back.
About 1am yesterday, Mr Warren woke to his dog barking, which was followed by a “huge bang”.
“Holy hell something’s gone wrong,” he said he thought at the time.
The thieves had come back, rolled Mr Warren’s Nissan out of the driveway on to the street and were trying to get to his Holden in the garage.
Mr Warren rushed outside to find two men who had just rammed his garage with a car ( pictured) and were trying to rip the panels off his garage door, so he grabbed one by the arm.
“We had a bit of a roll in the hay,” he said. “Then he tried to get back in the car and I wouldn’t let him get in.”
WE HAD A BIT OF A ROLL IN THE HAY, THEN HE TRIED TO GET BACK IN THE CAR AND I WOULDN’T LET HIM GET IN
NOEL WARREN
Mr Warren said the other man yelled for his friend to pull out a knife, saying “that’ll fix him”.
Instinct kicked in and Mr Warren stepped back as the man lunged at him, holding the knife, at least five times.
The neighbourhood began to awake. His daughter was yelling for help and people were starting to emerge from their homes.
The thieves left emptyhanded, but Mr Warren was left with a huge repair bill.
“Shocked is an understatement,” he said.
Despite the initial shock, Mr Warren said he wouldn’t let the incident upset him. Townsville District Duty Officer Senior Sergeant Darren Randall said the incident was one of multiple brazen break-ins at the weekend, which included homeowners waking to intruders in their homes.
A good alarm system was the saviour for a Mount Louisa family who captured two young people trying to break into their home.
The CCTV shows one of the culprits burning the flyscreen of a front door, attempting to reach in and flick the lock, but he was interrupted by an alarm and flood light.