A landlord went above and beyond the call of duty as he confronted two men trying to raid his fruit machines.

Danny Foley, who runs The White Horse, in Selhurst Road, Croydon, had £500 taken in a raid six weeks ago and could have lost a further £600 if the latest burglary had been successful.

The Palace fan woke up in the early hours of Wednesday morning and heard the windows of his pub being smashed.

He went downstairs, armed with a baseball bat, to find two men raiding the machines.

Mr Foley said as he came down the stairs into the bar area one of the men had his head in one of the machines trying to get the bank note acceptor. There was a sledgehammer next to the machine.

The landlord said he then "did the first man in the ribs" with the man letting out a howl of agony.

A brawl followed but as Mr Foley tried to hold down one of burglars he was hit in the head with part of a spade which had broken off during the attack on the machines.

Mr Foley fell back as a result of being hit in the face and the pair of raiders ran away.

The police arrived at 7.20pm and are now investigating the incident. Mr Foley said a string of pubs across the borough have been hit by raiders in recent weeks.

The landlord said there was a lot of evidence for the police to work with as the duo left their balaclavas, gloves, their bag and blood.

Mr Foley said: "There is never a dull moment in the life of a publican.

"Quite a few pubs have been hit and I got done about six weeks ago.

"I was down pretty quickly to confront them and we ended up having a right old set to. They got away with nothing, but I got four stitches after being hit on the head with a spade.

"Hopefully with the amount of DNA, fingerprints, and blood, the police can get them."

A police spokesman said anyone with information should contact police on 101 or call Crimestoppers on 0800555111.

 

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