A brave wheelchair-bound Army veteran got the better of two thugs who targeted him at knifepoint for his mobile phone.
Roger Mercer was out training for the upcoming Chester Half Marathon on the Millennium Greenway path in Blacon just before 8pm last night (Sunday, April 8) when he was suddenly confronted by two hooded young men.
One of them pulled out a knife and demanded 38-year-old Roger hand over the mobile phone he had strapped to his legs, but neither of them counted on 6ft 7in Roger swiftly knocking the blade out of the thug's hand and sending him flying.
As the other man attempted to get Roger into a headlock, the ex-serviceman wasted no time in sticking his thumb directly into his assailant's eye socket - causing him to release his grip.
The cowards then pushed Roger over in his wheelchair before fleeing the scene.
"I was trapped in my chair expecting a size 11 trainer in my face before they ran off," recalled Roger, who has been in a wheelchair since 2004 after suffering a fractured vertebrae on duty in Afghanistan.
"They had obviously thought I'm easy pickings because I'm in a wheelchair but they didn't realise I'm ex-Army and I know exactly what I'm doing."
He told The Chronicle: "It all happened so fast when they appeared in front of me. I regularly take part in marathons in my wheelchair for charity and train 3-4 times a week. I thought going out at that time would be nice and quiet with less cars around.
"I had just done five miles and had my head down when the men appeared in front of me - they obviously thought I was an easy target.
"But this hasn't put me off training and it's not going to stop me. I'm actually more miffed than upset about what happened - I've seen what bad people can be like but it's just more that they the cheek to think I was a victim in a chair and steal my phone.
"It could have been a lot worse and if it had, it could have stopped me helping the charities I regularly help in the Blacon community, such as the Blacon Scouts.
"Unfortunately there are people like that everywhere but I'm just going to keep on training - it's not going to phase me."
Cheshire police are asking for witnesses with any information to contact them, and a spokesperson said in a statement: "At 8pm on Sunday 8 April police were called to reports of an attempted armed robbery on Blacon Avenue, near Blacon Cemetery, involving a 38-year-old victim.
"Enquiries are currently ongoing to establish the circumstances of the incident."
Anyone with information is asked to contact 101.
You can sponsor Roger on his Justgiving page here
