Two women in Birmingham's Lozells area have been hailed as "brave" after fighting off an armed robber from a shop.

A video released by West Midlands Police shows Tyrone Dorsett involved in an altercation in a convenience store with two women, who are desperately trying to prevent him from fleeing the shop with a till.

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One of the women wrestles Dorsett while attempting to block the exit, while the other chases after him with a baseball bat, as the man flees the shop.

"Dorsett is a dangerous man [...] a bully who thinks nothing about carrying a knife in public and using it to threaten vulnerable people," said investigating officer, PC Sherrie Watkins from the West Midlands Police's High Harm & Vulnerability Team.

"We knew the offences were linked but had no idea Dorsett was living locally and witnesses could only describe him as 'T' – his nickname."

Dorsett was stopped and subsequently arrested, after officers from West Midlands Police spotted CCTV footage of him drinking beer from a can before the robbery. Dorsett, then discarded the can, only for the police to retrieve it and match the DNA found on it to Dorsett's.

The latter admitted a total of 15 robberies and one count of assault with intent to rob between 10 November and 5 February – and was jailed for 12 years at Birmingham Crown Court on 20 July.

West Midlands Police said Dorsett struck five times at the Bangla Bazaar convenience store in Leonard Road, Lozells, between 29 December last year and 16 January.

Each time Dorsett, who wore a mask during the offences, threatened the shopkeeper with a large knife before making off with cash and packets of cigarettes.

UK crime