Dairy owner beats thugs with brolly

The robbers, caught on the dairy's CCTV cameras, fled empty-handed after the owners fought back. Photos / Supplied

A former Indian Army soldier wrestled with a robber for his gun while his wife hit his accomplice with an umbrella during an attempted raid on their Auckland dairy.

Ranbir Singh, 55, needed 14 stitches after being struck on the head with a gun but the robbers fled empty-handed after he and his wife fought back.

Mr Singh was at the cash register on Saturday night when two men came in, one jumping the counter while the other pointed the weapon.

"I just got hold of the gun and I was pulling the gun from him and he was pulling it from me," Mr Singh said. "We were wrestling and the other man came round from behind and hit me with the barrel of the gun."

His wife, Kulwant, was out the back and saw the hold-up on the security TV at their shop in Manurewa.

Grabbing the closest thing to a weapon she could find - an umbrella - she came out and hit one of the men on the back of the head.

Mr Singh said he was angry and wanted to see the pair punished severely.

"It should be a tough penalty," he said. "Maybe I will have to keep something behind the counter."

He was taken to Middlemore Hospital for treatment and discharged early yesterday.

His son Sabi, 25, said it was the second time the family food market had been targeted. Last time Mr Singh smacked the robber on the hand with a golf club. He dropped his knife and ran off with nothing.

He understood the robbers, described as male Maori or Polynesian, in their 20s, one large build and one medium, may have gone on to commit another robbery in Mangere 20 minutes later.

Police said it was too early to link the two, but they were investigating the possibility.

About 8.50pm two men entered the Price Cutter superette on Vine St in Mangere, armed with a gun.

Detective Sergeant Colin Higson said the pair got away with "a quantity of cash" and cigarettes.

The two robberies were among four in the area on Saturday night.

About 7pm two men entered the Hillpark Superette on Grande Vue Rd, armed with a weapon. They fled with cash and cigarettes and nobody was injured.

About six hours later, a 24-year-old man was attacked and robbed while walking along Great South Rd, near Tironui Rd, in Takanini. He had cuts and bruises to his face.

Mr Higson discouraged people from taking on attackers.

* Anyone with information should contact Counties Manukau Police on (09) 261 1300.