A violent incident at a central Auckland dairy has seen the long-suffering worker celebrated for dispatching a young aggressor with well-placed kick.
Video shared online showed the encounter in the early hours of last Saturday at the popular convenience store, located on one of the CBD's busiest thoroughfares.
It shows two young men inside the store with the older dairy worker, who stands on the counter to create distance as one man approaches, appearing to challenge him.
The man then steps closer before attempting to punch the worker, his wild swing not appearing to make a connection.
The worker then moves, with aplomb, to defend himself by placing an inch-perfect boot to the man's jaw.
The force of the kick jerks the assailant's head back and dislodges his cap, leaving him to gather it from the floor - along with his pride.
His mate appears amused by his friend's self-inflicted misfortune and convinces him to walk away.
The video was shared to Reddit where users celebrated the dairy worker's actions, with many saying that it was refreshing to see him deal with the situation so swiftly.
Others joked that the young protagonist's fate was sealed once the elder combatant took the high ground and one described the dairy worker and having a "boot of justice".
"I did not know the Karate Kid retired to Auckland!" another user quipped.
The young assailant might think twice before trying that again. Photo / Supplied
Others shared their own memories of the worker at the central Auckland store, describing him as "an institution" and saying it was plagued by violent and drunken behaviour.
"My wife and I drove past one random Thursday night in around 2016 and he was getting harassed by a very violent crackhead. We went in the store to make sure he was OK," one person wrote.
"He asked us to watch the desk then went after the crackhead, clocked him clean on the chin and followed up with some solid ground and pound.
"Couldn't believe our eyes. Unfortunately, he dislocated his shoulder in the scuffle so we phoned the ambulance for him and stayed with him while they came."
Another recalled the same man dealing with a different situation.
"I've seen him deal with a really drunk and belligerent drag queen at like 11pm who was trying to pinch some stuff ... he shut her INSIDE the dairy while he waited for the cops," they wrote.
Police told the Herald they received a report of a disorder at attended at around 4.10am, however by this time the offenders were no longer at the location.
"No further action was required by Police," they added.
