A BRAVE shopkeeper stopped a robber from emptying his till by warding him off with a cricket bat.

Gurmej Dhillon, 56, needed eight stitches in his head after he was attacked with a screwdriver but instead of giving in to the violent criminal, he made him back away from the till by waving a cricket bat at him.

The grandfather, who has owned R K News and Off Licence, London Road, High Wycombe, since 1984, said that he was most surprised by the calm manner in which the robber had entered the shop.

Mr Dhillon said: "He turned around the edge of the counter, then he pulled a screwdriver from under his sleeve and said 'empty your till or I will stab you.'

"Then he stabbed me in the back of the head. I had hold of the cricket bat and I pushed him back and all the bottles fell off the shelves. Then I started noticing blood running down my face. I thought if I lose too much blood I will collapse, so I ran out to get help."

The robbery happened on December 17 at around 9.30pm but Mr Dhillon said his injury is still very painful.

The robber is described as black, 6ft 3in tall, and of medium build. He was clean shaven, approximately 30 years old and was wearing a baseball cap, black track suit bottoms and a jumper which may have been red.

He made off in a cream or white Montego from nearby Bassetsbury Lane.

Witnesses should contact DC Pete Collett at High Wycombe Police Station on (01494) 465888