Drunk teens bash retailer for sweets

The Panmure dairy owner says the blow could have broken his skull. Photo / Natalie Slade

A drunk teenage girl hit a 73-year-old dairy owner in the head with a hammer to steal chocolate bars and cigarettes, say police.

And they believe the man could easily have been killed in the robbery involving five teens.

Despite his injuries, the man chased one teenager through central Panmure and led police to where she was hiding.

Speaking from his Queens Rd shop yesterday, the man said the attack was terrifying - but not enough to keep him off work.

"One of the girls came in the door and grabbed my wife and said, 'Give us smokes'. As she grabbed my wife, she pulled a hammer from up her sleeve," said the man, who did not want his name published.

"I was sitting behind the counter. I called 111 but before I could talk to anyone, four other teenagers came in. One young man came behind the counter and attacked me, pushed me and grabbed some cigarettes.

"I was resisting him, struggling with him, and at the same time the girl reached over the counter and hit me with the hammer. At first I didn't realise that I had been hit so hard."

The three other teenage girls grabbed chocolate bars from the front of the counter and then all five left. They were all described as drunk.

The man chased one girl, whom he recognised, to a nearby address.

He then called police, who arrived within minutes. The teenagers were all found within about half an hour and arrested.

Three girls and a boy, all aged 14, and a 15-year-old girl appeared in the Youth Court yesterday facing a charge of aggravated robbery.

Constable Sean Hatwell said the age of the alleged offenders was a huge concern. "And it's not something you see every day, a group of girls in an aggravated robbery," he said.

"Whenever people are hit in the head with objects it's very serious."

Police branded the attack as "absolutely shocking" and said it showed a blatant disregard for the welfare of the dairy owner.

"They could have killed someone for some smokes and lollies. We could have so easily been looking at a murder here," said a spokesman.

The dairy owner spent about four hours under observation in hospital after the attack.

He said his head was sore and he could not chew, but he was thankful his injuries were not more serious.

"I'm really lucky ... If she had hit me half a millimetre higher it could have broken my skull. I could have been dead straight away," he said.

It is not the first time the couple have been robbed, but the first where one of them has been injured.

The man said he did not hesitate to return to his store yesterday.

"I'm not too worried. I'm a courageous man. I don't give up like that."