TWO brothers jumped into action when a pair of thieves attempted to make off with goods from their High Street business.

Gabriel and Fraiser Purdy locked a pair of would-be thieves inside their town centre farm shop after they attempted to make off with stolen goods.

The two thieves first targeted the Ruxtons store on Friday, January 19, when they successfully made off with around £200 worth of steak. But when the thieves returned the next day - the two brothers locked the doors behind them and demanded they pay for the stolen goods.

Gabriel described how the thieves 'scouted' the business before striking in broad daylight. He said: "They parked up in the loading bay and scouted the place out. One of them came in with quite a big bag and ran over to the most valuable area which is the steaks.

"They quickly loaded up to £200 worth of stock and left the store very briskly before they sped off."

Gabriel said despite being concerned the thieves could lash out physically, he and his brother felt it was important to intervene to protect their business. He said: "The next day I was behind the counter and as some customers left the thieves returned to the store. We were frustrated because this business is a lot of work and you don't want someone just taking.

"We went over and Fraiser locked the door. I said we had reason to believe they had taken the steaks and asked them to pay for them.

"I asked if they would like to see the CCTV footage and they said yes please, but then they said they wanted to leave - I said they can't because they owe us for the produce.

"Fraiser stood in front of the door and there was a bit of a ruck as he started trying to push Fraiser to the side. I was worried about Fraiser and I grabbed a bottle in self-defence and made it clear that they had to stop touching my brother - and to be fair they did stop. I again asked if they would pay for the goods by cash or card.

"As Fraiser was on the phone to the police they very quickly advanced at me and left through the back door of the business.

"You see it happen and your instincts take over. We had discussed beforehand that if this happened again we would try and get the money back. But of course there is an element of fear because you don't know if they have weapons. But we have worked hard for this and ultimately you have to stand up for what you worked for."

A spokesperson for Avon and Somerset Police confirmed inquiries were ongoing. In a statement they said: "We received a report at 12pm on Saturday, January 20, reporting two thefts from a shop in Wellington's High Street on Friday and Saturday.

"Officers are carrying out enquiries including CCTV trawls and will be looking to take witness statements in the coming days.

"If anyone was in the area on Saturday and witnessed anything suspicious, or have any relevant footage, please contact 101 and quote reference 5224016726."