A brave shopkeeper fought off armed robbers as they tried to raid his Midland jewellery store. He grappled with one of the masked crooks and refused to back down even at gunpoint. The 66-year-old stand forced the three raiders to flee empty-handed. The trio armed with a sawn-off shotgun and a hammer burst into the High Street, Rowley Regis store S&N Hodgkins as he served a pensioner at around 1.40pm on Monday. They demanded access to the safe before one of the gang jumped over the counter. The offenders dropped a hammer and a glove in the scuffle before fleeing empty-handed in a stolen Toyota Avensis which was later found in Netherton.