A 73-year-old shopkeeper and his two sons bravely tackled a masked robber who raided the till.
Shane Parker (32), who was disguised with a balaclava when he entered the Londis store at a petrol station in Barrow upon Soar, started helping himself to cash.
Determined to stop him, the shopkeeper hit him with the handle of a pack axe. He was then held by the shopkeeper's sons for about half an hour, until police arrived.
Parker was jailed for 27 months at Leicester Crown Court on Tuesday.
Speaking after the hearing, the shopkeeper, who did not want to be named, said: "It felt like a long time. It was really frightening."
He told how he had been robbed before, two years ago, when a raider held a knife to his throat.
On that occasion, the robber escaped with a quantity of cash, and has never been caught.
The businessman said: "That was scary. For it to happen again is too much."
The court heard in the latest incident, the elderly shopkeeper was alone in the store when Parker entered, walked behind the counter and pushed him into a corner, saying "money, money".
Adrian Harris, prosecuting, said: "The victim was frightened, particularly as he'd been robbed before. He pressed the panic alarm."
The alarm alerted his eldest son, who ran towards Parker when he saw him helping himself to cash.
The 50-year-old grabbed the raider and pulled him into a headlock.
It was then that the shopkeeper, fearing for his son's safety, got hold of the pack axe handle and struck Parker.
His other son, aged 43, then joined in to help.
Mr Harris said: "The robber didn't give up and continued to struggle, lashing out with his arms and legs."
Eventually, when he realised he could not escape, Parker pulled off his mask, saying: "It's Shane. I'm a drug addict."
The father and sons recognised him as someone who had been barred from the store 10 years earlier for petty theft.
Parker, formerly of Griggs Road, Loughborough, admitted carrying out the robbery at 9.30pm on March 9.
The court heard he suffered a cut above his eye and facial bruising and grazing during the scuffle. The victims were unhurt.
Parker had 64 offences on his record, including dishonesty and causing actual bodily harm, but had not previously committed robbery.
Adrian Langdale, mitigating, said: "He went into the shop intending to get alcohol, but when he saw the till open he made a grab of the money.
"He wasn't armed with a weapon.
"There was an element of immediate summary justice when he was hit on the head with a bat or handle and punched several times – although there's no criticism of the shop owners at all.
"No-one wants someone coming in to rob their shop."
Sentencing, Judge Michael Pert said: "It was pre-planned and your principal victim was a 73-year-old man working alone – a vulnerable victim."
