Watch: Man fights off attackers during petrol station attempted robbery in Mangere

A petrol station attendant is being praised for his actions after bravely fighting off two attackers during an attempted robbery in South Auckland over the weekend.

CCTV footage of the dramatic incident shows the staffer standing outside the G.A.S service station on Mascot Ave in Mangere.

Seconds later, a man with his face covered appears from around the corner, wielding a baseball bat.

The staffer backs into the service station as the attacker takes a swing at him.

The worker appears to have managed to snatch the bat out of his attacker's hands - as now the offender backs away and the staffer stands his ground outside the shop, holding the bat.

A white sedan, understood to be stolen, then appears in shot and a second man gets out of the car.

Both attackers - now armed - try to force their way into the service station, but are forced back out thanks to the bravery of the attendant.

He has since been identified as Atinder Singh, a tertiary student.

At the petrol station this afternoon, owner Raj Kaur said the incident occurred about 7.30am on Sunday.

She said Singh had been given a week off after the ordeal, but acknowledged that he was okay and was being supported.

They had also received a lot of support from locals.

In the nine years they have been operating in the area, it was the first attempted robbery they had had to deal with, she said.

Police had been in to take fingerprints, Kaur said.

When asked about the incident Singh said "I'm all right" but did not want to comment further.

The CCTV footage - which was uploaded to Facebook - has since been shared hundreds of times.

Many people are praising Singh for standing up to the offenders, who made off with nothing.

Detective Senior Sergeant Albie Alexander said the vehicle was recovered yesterday afternoon on Wallace Rd in Mangere Bridge.

Forensic testing is underway.

"Police are investigating this crime as an assault with intent to rob which can carry an imprisonment term of up to 14 years," Alexander said.

"This is absolutely appalling behaviour and the community will be equally as outraged as police by this type of offending.

"Here we have a person at work, earning a living and these offenders show up and think it is their business to attack him."

Alexander told the Herald police were taking this type of crime very seriously.

"We have seen a spate of aggravated robberies across Auckland and while this was slightly different as they didn't take any items, it is still very serious and police will make every effort to identify and hold those responsible to account," he said.

"Police have been working very closely with small business owners across Auckland over the last month as part of Operation Dukan and have visited nearly 1000 businesses including dairies, liquor stores and service stations.

"On top of this we have arrested over 65 people in the last three months in relation to aggravated robberies which have occurred since February.

"We hope this sends a clear message that police will not be tolerating this type of offending."

Police ask anyone with information on this incident to contact the Counties Manukau Major Crime Team on 09 261 1300.