A MACHETE-WIELDING man was tackled to the floor by staff and a customer as he tried to rob an Oxford convenience store.

Martyn Shorter burst into the Co-op in Rose Hill and slammed the three-foot machete into a till before demanding stock.

But the 34-year-old hadn’t reckoned with the bravery of two members of staff and a shopper who had popped in to pick up some vegetable oil.

After shop assistant Mohammad Abid was struck in the face with the blade he grabbed the would-be robber by the wrists and wrestled him to the floor, sending baked beans and toilet rolls flying – all caught on dramatic CCTV footage.

Customer Julian Griffiths then picked up a fire extinguisher and struck Shorter, of Rose Hill, while simultaneously calling police.

A third man, a shop manager identified only as Mr Reehan, also restrained the defendant before police in riot gear arrived.

At Oxford Crown Court yesterday Judge Julian Hall awarded each of the trio a £300 High Sheriff’s reward and said they “behaved with conspicuous bravery and in the public interest”.

Shorter, who has 18 convictions for 28 previous offences, admitted assault with intent to rob and having an offensive weapon.

The father-of-three was jailed for three years and four months.

Claire Fraser, defending, said her client was put up to the crime by two men who had accused him of stealing their drugs.

She said Shorter, who was a heroin addict for “14 or 15 years but has not used it in the last 18 months”, first came across the duo while walking his dog in Rose Hill. A week or so later, on the day of the incident, the men jumped out on Shorter and told him he must rob the Co-op to pay them back for £800 of missing drugs, Miss Fraser said.

She said her client was handed the clothes and the weapon used in the raid, as well as a note that was handed to staff demanding stock and cash.

“He states he was terrified of them, what they would do to either himself or his children,” said Miss Fraser, “He felt he had no option but to do it.”

She admitted the defendant “didn’t put up an immense struggle”.

Judge Hall said: “I am prepared to accept there were other people behind this offending, but the effect would be exactly the same on the people in the shop.”