Father of murdered Guardsman confronts armed robber at shop
KNIFEMAN STOLE SPIRITS
THE father of a murdered Cleethorpes Guardsman killed in Afghanistan has told how he came face-to-face with a robber armed with a knife. Adrian Major, the father of Corporal Jimmy Major, pictured, confronted the knifeman after he stole spirits from his garage shop.
CCTV images captured the man in the store moments before he threatened to stab Adrian, 56, at Windmill Garage, Saltfleet.
A memorial to Jimmy, 18, killed by a a rogue Afghan policeman in 2009, is near the entrance to the store.
The Cleethorpes Grenadier Guard was killed alongside Sergeant Matthew Telford and three other Guardsmen by the gunman in police uniform, known only as Gulbuddin, at Checkpoint
Blue 25 in Helmand province’s Nad Ali region on November 3, 2009.
But the robber walked into the store grabbed bottles of Jack Daniels whisky, vodka and gin and left without paying.
Jimmy’s mum Kim immediately alerted Adrian who went after the man in a hi-vis jacket at around 9.30am on Saturday.
“When I confronted him he swore at me and said ‘I will knife you,’ and I could see he had a blade in his hand,” told Adrian.
He retreated to the forecourt of the village garage and went to get in his car to follow the robber. But he disappeared.
Adrian, told the Grimsby Telegraph: “I had just got back from DeeBees in Grimsby and I was in the store when Kim shouted that he had walked out without paying. If it had been another 10 minutes later I wouldn’t have been there to protect the staff.”
He added: “The CCTV is good and it is a good image of him. Someone will recognise him. We don’t think he is from the village as I have never seen him before.
“He had jogging bottoms and a hi-vis jacket. I went out in the car looking for him but he had gone.”
Adrian added: “When I confronted him he said he was in a desperate way and swore and said he would stab me.”
Jimmy’s father said he hoped that when he is caught he gets a long sentence in prison.
He said: “He had probably been waiting til it was quiet. It was that blatant when he came in and walked out as bold as brass. It is annoying because businesses like ours have struggled during the lockdown and then someone comes in and robs you. It’s disgusting.”
A Lincolnshire Police spokeswoman said: “The suspect stole various items including bottles of spirits. No one was injured. It happened at about 9.30 on the 11 July when the suspect attended the Windmill Garage on the Main Road in Saltfleet. He was wearing a yellow high-vis jacket.”
She appealed to anyone who recognises the man in the image to contact Lincolnshire Police on 101 quoting log 138 of Saturday.