Images from CCTV footage at Howlong Bakery will hopefully identify five intruders who got the shock of their lives when the baker decided he wasn’t going to let them get away with it.
Police are heading to Howlong to investigate a break and enter overnight that ended with the local baker taking on five youths.
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Baker, Steve Ffyfe said he was in the bakehouse out the back just before 11.30pm when he peered through the glass doors and realised someone was inside.
Steve said he burst through the doors, clean jumped the counter and took them on.
“I’ve still got it,” he said this morning.
“When I caught them, the look on their face said ‘(expletive), someone’s here’.
“I served them a couple of knuckle sandwiches and then the boys outside came to their aid… they were throwing rocks at me.
“It could have been a lot worse; there were five of them.”
Steve says he could probably identify two of the offenders who he said would have been under 18 and “tall, but very weak”.
Steve shared images from CCTV on Facebook this morning.
“If you see these two about, offer them a change of pants; particularly the one who was crying and saying sorry,” he posted.
“Not so tough when you get caught midway through a break and enter.”
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The intruders wore surgical masks and despite doing an estimated $25,000 damage to the bakery, they stole nothing.
“They destroyed the tills and kicked the doors in but took nothing, zero,” Steve said.
“I called the police but there were none for 100kms.”
At the Post Office and Mail n Mart next door, Malcolm Whittle says he was lucky.
His front window was smashed but there was no damage to the inside of his business, and nothing was stolen.
Malcolm’s alarm went off at 11.38pm and his wife, thinking it was tripped by a moth, was there within three minutes.
“He was still in building when she walked in the back door,” Malcolm said.
“He went out the front door.
“We didn’t get a good look, but they are on CCTV footage from the bakery.
“The baker took them on, to his credit; they made a run for it, but they did quite a lot of damage.”
It is understood that forensics and Corowa Police are on their way to Howlong this morning, but Steve said the lack of police presence in the area means the intruders will likely get away with it.
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