Dramatic moment fish and chip shop staff batter knife-wielding robber when he tries to grab cash from the till
This is the dramatic moment heroic chippy staff restrained a knife-wielding robber as he tried to hold up the fish and chip shop.
This is the dramatic moment heroic chippy staff restrained a knife-wielding robber as he tried to hold up the fish and chip shop.
CCTV footage shows the crook barging behind the counter of Bens Fish Bar in Sparkbrook, Birmingham, before brandishing a large knife.
The hoodie-wearing thug brazenly demanded cash from the till in front of customers, who were a mixture of understandably horrified and bizarrely nonplussed.
However, owner Zafar Iqbal, 56, and his staff sprang into action to wrestle the would-be robber to the floor.
They pinned the yob to the ground while one of the remaining customers dialled 999 and waited for the police to arrive.
This is the dramatic moment a knife-wielding robber attempted to pilfer cash from the till at Bens Fish Bar in Sparkbrook, Birmingham
However, the crook was almost immediately restrained by owner Zafar Iqbal, 56, and his staff on October 11
One of my staff grabs the knife while I and another member of staff wrestle him onto the floor, the chippy owner recalled
Mr Iqbal (left) with the colleagues who bravely helped restrain the robber: Ayaz Mahmood (centre) and Zubir Muhammad (right)
CCTV caught the entire encounter. The crook is seen entering the shop with the knife in his pocket
Bens Fish Bar was serving customers looking to get a Friday takeaway in on the evening of October 11 when the crook barged in.
He pointed the knife with one hand and stuffed the other into the till before being swiftly apprehended.
One aloof customer was seemingly so engrossed by his phone, with headphones blocking out the kerfuffle, that he missed the entire thing.
Mr Iqbal revealed he has run the chippy for 25 years, now with the help of his wife and two grown-up children, but this has never happened to me before.
One of my staff grabs the knife while I and another member of staff wrestle him onto the floor, the owner said, adding that his only self-defence experience was doing karate a few years ago.
It all happened so quickly, Mr Iqbal recalled. When this man started threatening us I just thought, "We have worked hard for this, you are not going to take it from us".
I am very proud of my staff. They didnt hesitate to act.
He was asked by staff what he wanted to order but said he was still deciding as he made his was through the store
But he made a move towards the cash register and pulled the knife out from his hoodie
One of the employees grabbed the weapon while the other two restrained the man
The owner revealed that after a struggle they final brought the man under control by sitting on him
He was very aggressive and shouting but we managed to sit on him. We had to sit on him for 13 minutes before the police arrived.
Mr Iqbal was helped by brave colleagues Ayaz Mahmood and Zubir Muhammad that evening.
West Midlands Police reportedly arrested the man on suspicion of robbery after being called to the shop at around 5pm that afternoon.
The force has been contacted for comment.
