Thugs attack man in wheelchair on towpath with knife

TWO men saw a man in a wheelchair on the Shropshire Union Canal towpath as a very easy target to rob.

They tackled Roger Mercer with a knife demanding his mobile phone whilst he was on the towpath of the Shropshire Union Canal in Chester. But the thugs had picked the wrong man, as he was an Afghan veteran and though in the wheelchair he successfully managed to swipe the eight inch bladed knife out one of the men's hands then knocked him to the ground with a single well aimed blow,

Army training

Then he further brought in his army training and rammed his thumb into the eye socket of the other as he attempted to get him from behind his wheelchair in an headlock.

The two then ran off empty handed, the worse for wear, but not before pushing Roger and the wheelchair over,

Serious spinal injury

Roger had served with the Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment for almost 11 years serving in Northern Ireland as well as Bosnia and Afghanistan, until he suffered a serious spinal injury while serving in Afghanistan in 2007.

He told that he was used to the 'rough stuff' and though one of the men came at him with a knife he knew they were in for a surprise having no intention of handing over his mobile phone.

There have been a spate of robberies on the canal towpath in and around Chester, with warnings being given.