An armed robber who stormed a post office was foiled and left empty-handed after the pensioner owner grabbed the barrel of his GUN.
Brave Gary Shaw, 67, refused to hand over money when the balaclava-clad thief suddenly ran through the back door of his shop.
The armed robber had laid in wait for Gary to open his door for the local postman and burst in – wielding a large shotgun.
He demanded money but father-of-four Gary refused and grabbed the gun and the pair began to wrestle.
They fought over the gun on their feet for several minutes while Gary’s horrified wife – who was also in the shop – managed to dial 999.
The robber eventually tore the gun free from Gary’s grasp and fled empty handed from Lostwithiel Post Office in Cornwall.
Gary, a former post man who has run the store for 20 years, said he was determined not to let the robber ”get away with it”.
It is the second robbery at the shop following a break in several years ago and Gary said had to make a stand.
He said: ”The Post Office authorities will probably not like me saying this but you simply have to stand up to these people.
”He was waving a gun and demanding money but I was not going to let him get away with it. Why should he?
”He came in through the back door but I managed to grab the gun and we wrestled over it for several minutes.
”I can’t remember what was going through my head or what he was saying. I just wasn’t going to let it happen – the courts can’t sort them out.
”He had his finger on the trigger but couldn’t fire it because I had a hold too. Eventually my hands were so sweaty the gun slipped out and he ran off with nothing.”
The masked raider stormed the shop at around 5.20pm last Friday (13th) as Gary handed over mail to the local postman.
A spokesman for Devon and Cornwall Police said the robber – aged around 50 – left the shop empty handed.
He said: ”The incident took place at around 17.25 hours on Friday August 13 when a man, armed with what is believed to have been a shotgun, demanded money from the sub postmaster.
”The demands were refused and the offender left empty-handed. No-one was injured.
”The suspect is described as being around 50-years-old, 5ft 11in tall, of thin build and wavy, greying hair. He was wearing a light blue and grey boiler suit.”
Details of the incident were also posted on the Lostwithiel community website.
It said: ”Anybody driving through Lostwithiel late Friday afternoon will have been intrigued by the crowds outside the post office, the police cars and the helicopter hovering above the town.
”We spoke to the postmaster this morning. He explained that there had been an attempted armed robbery. He saw off the attacker who was armed with a shotgun.
”The armed robber, who left empty handed, had escaped. A bit too close for comfort.”
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