David Pugh suffered a broken nose and major facial injuries while defending his home (Picture: SWNS)

A brave dad was left covered in blood after he single-handedly fought off a gang of five robbers using martial arts.

David Pugh, 55, was asleep when the men stormed into his home armed with machetes and demanded cash.

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They started attacking his teenage son and 20-week-old puppy with the machetes, baseball bats and golf clubs.

But David leapt to action, fighting off the masked men with his bare hands, before they eventually left with nothing.


Graphic photos show the extent of his injuries in the ten minute face off, with blood dripping from his head onto his chest.

David in hospital after the attack (Picture: SWNS)

Horrific pictures show David covered in blood after the attack (Picture: SWNS)

David was left with a broken nose in the violent assault at 3am on Tuesday morning in the village of Catherine-de-Barnes in Solihull, West Midlands.



‘By the time I got out of bed, totally naked, I was approaching the door and it was kicked in. There was four or five guys on the landing in balaclavas,’ David said.

‘I grabbed the first couple I could and it turned into a brawl and a battle.

‘I just grabbed what I could and hit them with aftershave bottles and chairs.’

David, who is trained in Israeli self-defence combat Krav Maga, said ‘instinct took over’ when he saw his 17-year-old +son and Rottweiler puppy Zeus being attacked.

‘I was desperately trying to get to my son’s room but I had so many splits to my head, I was drenched in blood,’ he said.

‘They must have thought they half-killed me. In retrospect we were probably quite lucky.

‘We could only assume they saw that, realised we hadn’t got any money and thought “we have gone too far” and got out of there.’

David’s puppy Zeus was also caught up in the violence (Picture: SWNS)

Zeus has been patched up after the ordeal (Picture: SWNS)

Zeus took a blow to the head, leaving him with a bright red wound. In panic, the puppy ended up running into the garden and fell into a canal backing onto it

David explained: ‘He was hypothermic. A guy called Andy, a canoeist, found him and took him to Birmingham Dogs Home and warmed him up.

‘We got out of hospital and took him to the vets and stitched him up.

‘He’s traumatised, my lad is traumatised, the police said it was one of the most brutal attacks in a home they had ever seen.’

The have-a-go-hero says his £400,000 property was totally wrecked after the break-in, with door frames and cupboards kicked in and broken.

‘They didn’t leave with anything which is the only silver lining,’ he said.

Despite the violent attack the robbers left with nothing (Picture: SWNS)

David’s home was left covered in blood (Picture: SWNS)

‘We are like most people, we have a telly and most bits and bobs and what’s in your wallet – but that was about it.

‘I don’t think I’ll have a sleep-filled night for a long time, I’ll be on tenterhooks all the time.

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‘You don’t expect something like this in your home.’

A spokesperson for West Midlands Police said: ‘Police were alerted at 3.09am this to a break-in at an address in Lugtrout Lane, Catherine de Barnes, after a group of men had forced their way into the property and attacked the occupants. Officers arrived eight minutes after the 999 call.



‘House to house enquiries have been carried out, CCTV is being examined and items recovered for forensic analysis.

‘Investigations continue and anyone with information is asked to call West Midlands Police on 101 quoting log number 204 13/2.’