A ROBBER wielding an 18-inch blade got nothing but a sore arm for his trouble when he attempted to raid the Pier Hotel in Morecambe this week.

Landlord Tony Meehan whacked the tap room bar hatch door against the robber's arm when the thug threatened him at about 11.15am on Tuesday.

Seeing he had a fight on his hands the robber, who thought he was going to be backed up by his accomplices, turned and fled.

Tony himself told the story of what happened: "He came in and asked me what whiskies I had. He looked like a villain, possibly a drug addict, and so there was no way I was going to go through to the other bar to get the whisky or to check.

"He said: 'well I'll have your till then' and he produced this 18-inch blade. That's when I lost my temper. There was a split second when he looked to see if his friends were with him. I took the opportunity to hit him with the bar door on his arm. I imagine he's very sore today. as soon as he saw he had a fight he turned and left. His friends were outside the bar door. They were driving off before I could get out of the pub."

Usually Tony, who hails from Scotland, could have expected two or three of his regulars to have been on hand but the place was deserted at the time.

Police issued an appeal to anyone with any information and for witnesses outside the pub to come forward.

The gaunt faced robber was about five feet 11 inches, 23 to 24 years old, skinny but with broad shoulders. He wore a dark cotton tracksuit top. He drove off in a blue Ford Orion car which was parked on nearby Clarence Street.

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