This is the dramatic moment a man is attacked from behind by masked thieves who tried to steal his car before being chased away by have-a-go hero neighbours.
Ryan Walsh, 24, was walking towards his front door in Coventry when the two thugs pulled up outside on a moped and one ran towards him with a knife.
He was forced to hand over the keys to his black hatchback but then repeatedly tried to stop the masked attacker getting inside by kicking him and fighting him off with a water bottle.
Mr Walsh was stabbed in the arm, shoulder and waist as he bravely battled the knifeman to stop him getting away, eventually dragging him from the vehicle and into the road where they brawled on the ground.
The driver of a blue Subaru then stopped and came to his aid, alongside two other neighbours, which caused the thugs to flee on the moped as the Good Samaritans gave chase.
Ryan Walsh, 24, was ambushed by two masked thieves on a moped outside his home in Coventry, pictured, and they stole his car keys
Mr Walsh tried to stop them taking his black hatchback, pictured, and attempted to prevent one of the thugs, who was armed with a knife, getting to the driver’s seat
Mr Walsh, pictured, said he would like to thank those who helped him, including a Subaru driver whom he would like to ‘buy a pint’ for
The incident took place on Sunday, April 7, and West Midlands Police is investigating.
Mr Walsh, who has been stitched up in hospital, said he wants to find the Subaru driver to ‘buy him a pint’ to thank him.
He said the terrifying ordeal began when he saw the reflection of the scooter pulling up in his door and a man wielding a knife running towards him.
On the subsequent struggle, Mr Walsh told the Coventry Telegraph: ‘I started kicking him and ragging the keys out of the ignition. I got him out of the car and he got straight back in.
Eventually Mr Walsh was able to grab the thief and drag him into the road while the other masked man watched on from the moped
They fought in the road and Mr Walsh suffered stab wounds to his arm, waist and shoulder
‘He had a knife on him so I couldn’t get too close. I hit him a few times with my water bottle and got a few digs in. I got him to the floor and that’s when he must have stabbed me.’
Mr Walsh, who had another car stolen last year, claimed the other man, who was still on the scooter, was shouting ‘Just do this guy’, before help arrived and the pair sped off.
He added: ‘The best thing is they didn’t get the car and all my neighbours are okay. Anything could have happened.’
Writing on Facebook yesterday, he thanked everyone for their support after the ordeal.
Mr Walsh said: ‘Thanks everyone for all the lovely messages I’ve received and all the neighborhood and people that helped me. On the mend and having and on recovery.
Eventually the other masked men tried to intervene only for a passing blue Subaru to stop, pictured, and the driver chase him off. Two more neighbours then arrived and ran after the moped as it sped off
Mr Walsh, pictured left and right, said he was recovering and that he was glad everyone else who helped him was ok
‘Be careful everyone, these people have not (sic) remorse and aren’t even worth your energy.’
Ryan’s mother Agnes Walsh said her son was lucky not to have been killed and revealed she has been unable to watch the CCTV.
She also said it was the second time in a matter of months that the family had been targeted by car thieves.
Agnes, who lives at the property with her son and husband, said: ‘I just can’t seem to get my head around it.
‘It really is disturbing, my sons life is more important than a piece of metal. He had just come back from a run minding his own business when they jumped him.
‘He had three stab wounds. I was in work when I heard about what happened. The bike was stolen a few hours before.
‘I did not know what to do and I just can’t look at the CCTV any more. Thank god people came out, I dread to think what could happened if they didn’t.
‘We know our neighbours very well, it is a very friendly street. He is my son and he is lovely, he is a good lad.
‘He is in a band and loves people, he is a family person. People have stopped me in the shops and asked how he is doing.
‘They all know him because he is a bit of a character.
‘But I just think how would their parents feel if it was their lad.
‘We read about it all the time so it makes you think that it could have been very different.
‘He seems fine now and he’s back home but I just cant seem to get my head around it.
‘We live on a main road and these things have happened before here. We had our Audi stolen in October.
‘They broke into my house and stole my car keys and it was used in a that hit and run.
‘Three days later a man was hit with my car and he was in intensive care.
‘Everyone has CCTV in the road but they just do not seem to prevent these things from happening. ‘
A spokesman for West Midlands Police said: ‘Police were called after a man was stabbed in the arm following a robbery in Coundon, Coventry, just before 7.30pm on Sunday, April 7.
‘A man in his 20s was getting out of his vehicle when he was approached by two offenders on a moped.
‘He suffered an arm injury, which is not believed to be serious. The keys to the car were taken but the offenders fled without it.’