Heroic fish and chip shop staff batters knife-wielding robber

Dramatic CCTV footage (click to play above) captured the moment when a crook tried to rob a takeaway - only to get wrestled to the ground by brave staff.

The hoodie-wearing thug is seen, in the video, barging his way behind the counter and demanding cash from the till in front of horrified customers. Chippy owner Zafar Iqbal and his staff then wrestle the thief to the floor of the chippy.

Staff pinned the yob to the ground, in Bens Fish Bar in Sparkbrook, Birmingham, while a customer dialled 999 and waited for the police to arrive.

Mr Iqbal, 56, said: “We were busy on a Friday and this guy comes in and I ask him what he would like to order. He says he’s still looking so I ask another customer. Suddenly he barges his way around the counter and I can see he’s got a large knife which he had in his pocket. With his other hand he forces his hand into the till and grabs some money. One of my staff grabs the knife while I and another member of staff wrestle him onto the floor.”

The brave team had to sit on the ‘aggressive’ man for 13 minutes, until police arrived.

Mr Iqbal runs the chippy with his wife and two grown-up children, and says it’s the first time he has ever dealt with this kind of incident. He adds that he is ‘very proud’ of his staff.

“When this man started threatening us I just thought, ‘We have worked hard for this, you are not going to take it from us.’”

West Midlands Police reportedly arrested the man on suspicion of robbery after being called to the shop at around 5pm on Friday, October 11. They have been contacted for comment.