A HEROIC pharmacy manager today spoke of the terrifying moment he tackled a robber who pointed a shotgun at him.

Andrew Phillips-Godfrey, 55, who runs Knights Pharmacy, in Burchester Place, Banbury, managed to wrestle the weapon - which turned out to be fake - away from the would-be robber.

With both Mr Phillips-Godfrey's hands on the gun, the raider let go and ran out of the building empty-handed.

Mr Phillips-Godfrey said: "I looked outside and there was this man putting on his balaclava. I thought, 'That is a strange thing to wear'. He walked into the shop and I could see a couple of barrels sticking out of a plastic bag." The raider pointed the barrels directly at Mr Phillips-Godfrey and gestured for him to get behind the counter. The barrels were pointed at my midrift and my assumption was that it was a gun."

But instead of handing over the money, Mr Phillips-Godfrey tackled the raider.

"I took one step back and to my side. I lifted my left hand and grabbed the barrels.

"With my right hand, I grabbed the stock of the gun. I said, 'You've got no chance'. There was no struggle."

The raider was white, in his 20s, about 5ft 9in tall, wore dark jeans and a fleece-style jacket. There were no customers in the shop at the time of the raid on Tuesday.

Story date: Thursday 24 February

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