Shopkeeper fends off attacker with bottle

THE moment the man produces his knife at Anil Velji

A BRAVE shopkeeper fought off an armed man with a bottle of vodka as his stunned teenage son watched on.

Dramatic CCTV shows the man lunging towards Anil Velji wielding a knife in a convenience store in Oldham.

Mr Velji attempts to fend off his attacker with the spirit bottle before falling to the ground.

He kicks the man from the floor as he continues to come towards him, and manages to pick up a chair behind the shop counter and fight back.

Responsible

Quickly the man retreats and flees the scene, with Mr Velji giving chase with a piece of wood.

The 40-year-old dad shared the footage from the incident on April 23 at the Premier Convenience on Manchester Street in a bid to track down the man responsible.

He said that the man had entered the store a few minutes earlier and had been 'eyeing up' the spirits.

"I asked him what he was interested in, he told me he didn't have enough money for the expensive stuff and kept looking," he said.

"I kept serving customers. He was waiting for them to leave and the shop to be empty.

"I picked up a bottle of vodka for him and turned around to put it in the till, I heard a noise behind me and the man had pulled out a knife and was coming at me behind the counter. It was a six-inch kitchen knife, my 16-year-old son was right there with me.

"I tried to hit him with the bottle of vodka and tripped over, I kicked him from the ground and then picked up a chair behind the counter and defended myself with it.

"I hit the panic button and the man ran off.

"The police were here within a minute of me hitting the button but it was too late, the guy was already around the corner."

Thankfully neither Mr Velji or his son were injured, except for a few bruises.

Stronger

Mr Velji added: "My son was in shock and couldn't sleep for a few days. We've only been here five months and nothing like this has ever happened before.

"It's the first time in my life I have ever been in a fight or scuffle, but it has definitely made me a stronger and less fearful person."

A spokesman for Greater Manchester Police confirmed they were aware of the robbery and the video and appealed for information.

Contact police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111