A hero neighbour chased off three knife-wielding burglars who were raiding a house on his street.
The man, who wanted to remain anonymous, was caught on astonishing CCTV as he bravely fended off the trio, who were brandishing a knife and a hammer.
The dad-of-two leapt into action when he heard his neighbour’s alarm go off in Leicester Road, Failsworth, Oldham.
The 49-year-old told the Manchester Evening News : “I ran over and saw a guy in a hi-vis jacket. At first I thought it must have been my neighbour doing some work on his house.
“Then he turned round and looked at me and I saw he had a balaclava on. That’s when I knew.”
The neighbour dashed back home and told his daughter to call police while he grabbed a piece of wood from his garage and ran back.
He said: “I banged on the door shouting ‘get out, you scumbag’, and I tried to open the door but it was locked. So I ran round the side of the house and kicked the gate open and as I came round the corner I saw there was three of them.
“One of them had a big sharp kitchen knife and another ran at me with the hammer.
“I stood my ground and they shot off.”
He added: “When you look back at the video it’s quite frightening. When they’ve got a knife and a hammer and it’s three against one you’ve got no chance, but you don’t think at the time.”
But he said he would “100 per cent” do it again.
“You can’t let them get away with it,” he said.
“It’s so wrong. You go to work to earn money so you can have nice things and they have no respect for people. They’ve got to be caught.”
The couple whose home was burgled - who also did not want to be named - have hailed their neighbour a hero.
The man said: “He was great. I would have done the same for him.”
They suspect the burglars were after the keys for their Audi TT, which was parked outside.
It was not taken but the thieves escaped with cash after prizing open a safe with a crowbar.
The incident was caught on cameras installed by the homeowners after a previous burglary.
The footage - which has been seen by detectives - shows the gang getting out of a light-coloured BMW X5 and forcing their way in through the back door.
