Two Slip End shopworkers have been hailed as heroes after grappling with a pair of knife-wielding robbers before chasing them out of sight.
After barging through the doors of Slip End Superstore at 6.30 on Sunday night, the two burglars got more than they bargained for when they came up against shopkeepers Christopher Edwards and Rauf Khan.
While one thief stood just inside the door of the Markyate Road shop brandishing a six-inch knife, the other snuck behind the unmanned counter and began to pocket cigarettes.
Refusing to stand by while the thieves plundered the shop’s stock, Christopher and Rauf leapt into action.
As Christopher lunged over the counter to grab the thief targeting cigarettes, Rauf plucked a plastic cricket bat from a stand near him and ran towards the armed accomplice.
Stunned by the shopworkers’ riposte the pair decided to flee, knocking over a stand on the way out to prevent Christopher and Rauf chasing them.
Christopher, 59, told the Luton News: “Nothing was going through my mind except from ‘stop them’
“It was a spur of the moment thing, the adrenaline was really running through me after it happened.
“They wanted us to walk away and let them do what they wanted but they got that wrong.”
Rauf added: “We were so shocked, one moment we were doing our job and then the next thing this happened.
“After one of them raised the knife at us I saw the plastic bat next to me so I picked it up.
“He was trying to block us from us stopping the other one but in the end they both got scared and ran away.”
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