A pair of thieves thought they'd found themselves an easy target when they saw a bloke in a wheelchair on a canal towpath in Chester, England.
They approached him and demanded he hand over his phone but they certainly didn't expect the man to be an army veteran.
Roger Mercer used the skills he learned in the Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment and knocked out the eight-inch knife from one of the would-be thieves' hands. When the other thug tried to grab the 38-year-old's wheelchair, Roger rammed his thumb into his eye socket and put him in a headlock.
Bloody hell - what a legend.
Mr Mercer said: "This one lad had a hoody which was pulled tight around his face and he was holding a curved blade.
"I was able to get the blade out of his hand straight away and it got thrown to the side. I also sent him flying. He was there going, 'What the hell?' He probably wasn't expecting a wheelchair user to fight back.
"The other guy kicked or pushed me over and then ran off. I was expecting to get kicked in the face but I just heard one of the lads say, 'Just leave it'.
"I've had self-defence training in the Army and spent two years in Northern Ireland as well as Bosnia and Afghan so I'm used to the rough stuff.
"I wasn't fazed. I just thought 'they're not having my phone, I've earned that'. They must have thought 'easy pickings' but they got more than they bargained for."
Roger served with the Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment for 11 years and during a tour of Afghanistan he suffered a devastating spinal injury. But he hasn't let that stop him living his life and he's been gearing up for the Chester Half Marathon.
"I regularly take part in marathons in my wheelchair for charity and train three to four times a week," he said.
"I had just done five miles and had my head down when the men appeared in front of me. 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 had the cheek to think I was a victim in a chair and steal my phone."
Police have launched an investigation into the attempted robbery and are appealing for anyone with information to come forward.
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