An Aranui dairy worker was hit on the nose with a hammer in a robbery early on Tuesday morning.
Richik Patel opened the dairy on the corner of Pages Road and Breezes Road at 6am. Not long after, two men ran into the store with faces covered and a hammer.
"They asked me to sit down on the floor and raise your hands," Mr Patel says.
The men then demanded he open the till, and then took off with cigarettes, cash and the till drawer.
Mr Patel says he chased them with his own hammer and grabbed one of the men, before he was hit on the nose with by the other man.
He let the man go and quickly called police.
Cash, cigarettes and the cash till drawer were taken (Emma Cropper)
Mr Patel says he wasn't scared as incidents like this had happened before, and he is careful who he allows into the dairy.
He made sure he got a look at the man's face before he let them go.
Mr Patel got out of hospital this morning and had his nose glued and covered. It's expected to take two or three weeks to heal he says.
The offenders are thought to have left the area on bicycles and went in the direction of Wainoni Road.
People with information can contact Christchurch Police on 03 363 7400 or anonymously through Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
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