Stockport dad pinned down during £80k car theft
A man fought a gang of masked raiders who pinned him to the ground as they ransacked his house while his wife and three-year-old daughter hid upstairs.
CCTV shows Ali Gill, 40, was put in a choke hold on his driveway while his house in Cheadle Hulme, Stockport, was searched for keys, watches and money. They found keys for his £80,000 sports car while "terrified" wife Zoara, 34, watched through an upstairs window. Police have launched an investigation into the aggravated burglary on Monday. Mr Gill pulled a balaclava off one of the four burglars as his wife called police to their home in Three Acres Lane at about 18:30 GMT. The car was found later that evening, a handbag and wallets were also stolen. CCTV shows one of the men charging at the front door before running down the hallway towards company director Mr Gill, who was working in the kitchen. Mr Gill said: "I knew I had to stop them from getting into the house" because his wife and daughter were inside. "My natural instinct was to charge back at them and I felled the first guy and then I was grappling with the others. "I'm 6ft 3ins and 18 stone but I was overwhelmed by the three of them and eventually I was put in a choke hold." The gang shouted "where's the keys, where's the watches, where's the money?" as two of the the men pinned Mr Gill to the ground. His wife who is a recruitment consultant had taken their daughter for a bath when she heard the commotion and fled to the second floor of the house. "My biggest fear was that they would get upstairs and attack me and my daughter," she said. "I watched the whole thing through the shutters and it was terrifying, but I had to stay calm for my daughter and to describe what was happening to the police." Mr Gill believes the men were targeting his wife's VW Golf R, which was parked on the drive, before discovering the keys for his more valuable Audi RS6, which was parked in the garage.