Fairytale ending after 'fairy godfather' tackles armed robber

An alleged armed dairy robber in Napier has been caught, not red-handed, but rather, pink-faced.

He's appeared in court, after being chased down by a man in a fairy costume.

Liam Fontaine had been dressed to take part in a breast cancer awareness walk with sister Kristel, in memory of their mum.

The pink-winged crusader didn't hesitate to step in when he saw a crime occurring at his local dairy on Hastings Street.

"I was grabbing a pie and a drink, and went to walk out and some rude dodgy fella just shoulder-barged me, and I was like, 'Oh, he's a suspicious looking character'," he told Newshub.

CCTV footage shows the moment Liam left the dairy, passing the would-be robber on the way in.

The alleged robber threatened the owner with a weapon, but was chased out of the shop empty-handed.

Mr Fontaine, still dressed as a fairy, raced after him, closely followed by a 14-year-old named Michael.

"I put my pie and drink down, he got chased out and I just took off after him," Mr Fontaine said.

Meanwhile, his sister phoned the police.

"Michael and Liam took chase," Ms Fontaine said. "I was straight into action too, no second thought, we just wanted to stop him."

Mr Fontaine admits pink tights aren't the toughest of superhero outfits but he's wearing them proudly.

"Definitely, the super pink fairy," he said.

It's not the first time Arkwrights Dairy owner John Zhao has faced an armed robber and he can't thank the good samaritans enough.

"[They're] really brave men, really nice," he told Newshub.

Off-duty police officer Hannah O'Leary happened to be passing by at the time and helped out.

"We see a pink fairy with another young male and a fella on the ground," said Constable O'Leary.

"They were waving out for help so we pulled over.

"I called 111 and my husband helped hold the guy down. They did well - the pink fairy saved the day."

Police don't advise members of the public to take on armed criminals, but are happy it all worked out.

"He's been called so many names - Pink Crusader, Fairy Godfather, Pink Fairy," Ms Fontaine said.

A 42-year-old man has appeared in court charged with aggravated robbery.

Newshub.