Got him! Hero OAPs trap armed thief in shop
THIS is the cheering moment two pensioners foiled a knife-wielding thief by barricading him inside the shop he was trying to rob.
Ron Smith, 78, was on his way to the post office when he passed the convenience store and saw 19-year- old Liam Redford inside pointing his blade at the female shop assistant.
He held the door shut as Redford filled a bag with cash and cigarettes. Robert Anderson, 72, who was going to the chemist, saw what was going on and came over to help. Dramatic CCTV footage shows how the pair then kept a tight grip on the door.
Redford, panicking as he realised he was trapped, threw his bag containing £450 in cash and £200 of cigarettes back at the shop assistant and said: ‘Tell them to open the door. I just want to go, you can have your money back.’
He is filmed running upstairs and climbing out through a window of the P and H convenience store in Pendlebury, Salford, before jumping on to the roof of a van. He was then grabbed by builders, who had stopped to help the pensioners, and was arrested by a police officer who had arrived on the scene.
Redford, from Salford, has been jailed for two years after pleading guilty to robbery.
The pensioners have received a commendation from Greater Manchester Police for their bravery.
Mr Smith said: ‘I was just walking past the shop and looked in and saw this lad holding a big knife at a girl behind the counter, so I thought, well he’s not getting out while I’m here. We were very proud to receive the Chief Constable’s Award – at least we did something. It’s on the wall at home.’
Salford mayor Peter Dobbs, who presented the award to the men, said: ‘It took a lot of courage to do what they did and I wanted to meet them to say thank you on behalf of the city of Salford. They gave the police time to reach the scene and catch him red-handed.’
Mr Smith and Mr Anderson did not know each other before the incident, but it turned out they had gone to the same school – Cromwell Road High in Swinton – as boys.