Brave Tamil Worker: Safeguarded Shop from a Thief in U.K.

Lankan Tamil tackle sword wielding raider in UK

This is the moment a hero shopkeeper fought off a crazed robber wielding a Samurai sword - and locked him in a cupboard.

Drug-crazed Andrew Speed, 18, slashed at Rameshkumar Rasiah with the 18-inch blade screaming: ''I'm going to stab you, I'm going to kill you.''

But the brave worker chased him through the shop and eventually grabbed the blade as his boss and his sister waded in armed with a broom and pipe.

The trio grappled with the youth for two minutes and eventually bundled him into a store cupboard, where they locked him in until police arrived.

When he was eventually escorted from the shop by police officers he sobbed: ''Please, keep them away from me, I won't play up, get me out of here.''

Speed, of Southmead, Bristol, was sentenced to three-and-a-half years in a youth detention centre at Bristol Crown Court on Tuesday.

Yesterday Rameshkumar, 31, - who suffered cuts and bruises to his palm and elbow - said the thug had ''picked on the wrong shopkeeper''.

''I was absolutely terrified but adrenaline took over and I knew I had to stop him from stealing anything,'' he said.

''He threw cans at me and kept trying to attack me but I was not backing down because I knew I had to protect the shop for my boss.

''Sometimes it can be a bit worrying when you're working alone and perhaps he thought he could get away with it - but this guy picked on the wrong shopkeeper.

''Let this be a lesson to all thieves - you will never steal anything while I'm working in the shop.''

The raid happened at a Londis convenience store run by Nagaratnam Jeyanthan in Southmead, Bristol, at 5.30am on June 9.

CCTV captures the youth - whose face was disguised by a scarf - walk into the store and threaten Rameshkumar with the blade.

Sri Lankan-born Nagaratnam, 29, and his sister Suragini (corr) heard the struggle and ran down from their bedroom above the shop and waded into the fracas.

Nagaratnam, who lives at the shop with his wife, 28, and their five-month old daughter said he was delighted the attacker had been caught.

Speaking outside court, he said: ''This was the first knife we've seen in four years here and I was shocked.

''I felt like closing the shop for good but now I think we will be staying because I feel we have the support of the community.

''We don't feel like heroes because we were just doing what everybody else would by protecting ourselves and our shop.

''If the police and the local people give us their support we will be OK and there are many good people in Bristol.''

Rameshkumar - who only arrived in England from Sri Lanka a few months ago - tore a scarf from the youths face and recognised him as a local customer.

Speed, of Southmead, admitted assault with intent to rob and possession of an offensive weapon in relation to the attack.

Kenneth Bell, prosecuting, said Speed had confessed to police that he tried to rob the shop to buy money for drugs.

Sentencing him, Judge David Ticehurst said the shop staff acted in an ''entirely reasonable'' way.

He told Speed: ''This was a robbery involving a samurai sword with which you threatened the shopkeeper.

''It is fortunate in the extreme that more serious injury didn't result.''

Julie Phillips, mitigating, said Speed was immature and naive, and his crime lacked sophistication.
(Mirror.co.uk)