Man aged 77 tackles store raider

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CCTV footage of the shop raid

A have-a-go pensioner brought a drug addict shop raider to the ground with a whack from his walking stick.

Ron Kennedy, 77, stepped in after the robber grabbed cash from the till at a Spar shop in Plymouth, Devon.

Mr Kennedy hit Richard Coleman, 32, with his walking stick and picked up and returned £60 in banknotes which the robber dropped as he tried to escape.

The "public-spirited" action was praised by Judge Francis Gilbert when the thief was sentenced in court.

Mr Kennedy, who uses a metal walking stick, had gone to his local Spar shop in Laira for a lottery ticket when he heard a shop assistant scream.

He should get an award. He's our hero Annette Doyle, Store Manager

He told BBC News: "I looked round and saw this man with the money in his hand, so I hit him with my stick.

"I knocked him down and he dropped the money and then he ran off up the street."

Former dock worker Mr Kennedy added: "I wasn't scared. Anyone would have done the same in my situation."

Spar manager Annette Doyle said: "He was brilliant. I think he should get an award. He's our hero."

Robber Richard Coleman, 32, admitted four robberies at shops in Devon, including more than £400 from the Spar in Laira.

Coleman, who lives in Basildon in Essex but was staying in Plymouth at the time, was sentenced at Plymouth Crown Court on Monday to a total of four years in jail.

The court heard that he had been a heroin addict since the age of 17, and stole the money to pay for drugs.