"He said 'I'm going to kill you'."
Estate agent Asif Ali, aged 35, fought off three armed robbers with his bare hands after they broke into his home in Bamford, Greater Manchester, at around 9:15 pm on September 24, 2019.
In CCTV footage, Mr Ali can be seen landing several blows on one masked person before two accomplices join in and he fights them off too.
Mr Ali explained how his first thought was to protect his wife Charlotte, who was in bed at the time of the attempted robbery.
He said that his “instinct” kicked in when he was confronted by a balaclava-wearing man dressed in black.
In the CCTV footage, Mr Ali ducked a punch from the thug before landing a flurry of his own, forcing the thief into a corner.
Another attacker burst in through the open door and Mr Ali fought both of them with his dog. A third masked man appears but Mr Ali manages to force all three men out.
He tried to shut the door but one thug kept it open and went back into the house. Mr Ali ran into the kitchen and picked up two knives.
The men went into the garden where one of them threw a large block at the door. But Mr Ali ran out to confront them again.
At the same time, his wife Charlotte woke up and went into the hallway. While on the phone to the police, she ran outside before the couple returned to their home after the robbers escaped.
CCTV cameras spotted a fourth member running through Mr Ali’s garden with his phone by his ear. Mr Ali explained the incident:
“I was on a business call when I heard the dogs barking really aggressively.
“I went to see what was going on and there was someone standing there dressed head-to-toe in black.
“He threw a punch at me and we started to fight. I didn’t know what I was doing. Instinct just kicked in, I just trying to get him out of the house.
“A second man came in and I thought he was trying to get upstairs where my wife was. I didn’t want them anywhere near my wife.
“I got them outside, but they were pulling at the door, then one of them pulled out what looked like a knife, but the police think it might have been a screwdriver.
“He said ‘I’m going to kill you’.
“He started to walk back towards me. I ran back inside and grabbed a couple of kitchen knives and chased them back out.”
Mr Ali has said that he has released the CCTV footage in an attempt to catch the attempted robbers.
The Daily Mail reported that he has offered a £5,000 reward for information which would lead to a conviction. He added:
“It’s still not sunk in, I don’t think.”
“It was surreal. That someone could be so brazen and just walk into someone’s house like that is unbelievable.
“We work hard, seven days a week sometimes, for what we have and it makes me angry that some people think they can just come and take that.
“They knew we were home. The lights were on, the cars were on the drive, the doors were open, and they’ve come into our home armed, knowing there were people inside, knowing there would likely be a confrontation and knowing they would cause some damage.
“Someone out there knows who these people are. They need to be caught before they do it again.”
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