A shopkeeper bravely defended his business from a machete-wielding raider – and won a medieval-style DUEL with him in the aisle.
Fearless Muhammed Maqsood – known as Max – stood his ground when the masked thug burst in demanding money at 6am.
The 63 year-old grabbed a metal shutter pole and jousted with the crook, who was waving a 3ft blade.
Despite being hit three times with the machete – and losing part of a finger – Max refused to give in and sent the yob packing empty-handed.
Police have now released the dramatic CCTV of the clash at the Max and Sons convenience store in Eden Vale, Sunderland last Saturday.
Max, who has run his shop for 32 years, said: “He was telling me ‘give me the money, give me the money’ and he showed me the big knife, which was 3ft long.
“I went to the counter and said to him ‘cool down’ and he followed me. I said ‘look, that’s where we put the money’.
“He got me three times, but I used the pole twice and got him once on the shoulder and he ran away.
“It was a shock and I’ve never done anything wrong to anybody.”
Max lost part of his middle finger from his left hand after the yob sliced it.
Acting Detective Sergeant Nick Lawrance said: “The footage is clearly distressing as it shows the man going in armed with the machete and struggling with the shopkeeper.
“This sort of incident is extremely unusual in the area and I’d like to reassure people we’re doing everything we can to trace the man in the CCTV.
“This is why we’ve released the images – we want people to let us know who this is.
“Someone out there will have information about who this is and I’d encourage them to get in touch with us, anonymously if necessary.
“Even if they think the information is insignificant it could be the vital piece we need.”
The wanted man is white, 5ft 8in to 5ft 10in tall, and slim-to -medium build.
He was wearing black bottoms, a black top with two white stripes down each sleeve and a small motif on the left side of the chest.
He also had a grey-hooded top underneath the black jacket and a black mask pulled down over his face.
Officers are asking anyone who was in Eden Vale during that time to contact them.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Northumbria Police on 101 ext 69191 quoting reference 336 08/11/14 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
