A plucky pensioner has been hailed as a local hero after fighting off armed raiders who tried to rob his local bookies in Glanmire in Cork on Saturday.

The grandfather, who is in his early 80s and lives locally, can be seen in CCTV footage of the incident which was posted online.

The incident occurred when three armed and masked men burst into the Bar One Racing bookmakers at the Hazelwood Centre in Glanmire at around 6.30pm on Saturday evening.

Two of the raiders were carrying hammers and proceeded to jump the counter and attack the shop’s only staff member, while a third man carrying what appears to be a shotgun held up the customers.

However, while two of the customers willingly did not resist the robbery, the older gentleman went to the aid of the staff member and fought the raiders head on.

As the staff member was being attacked by the two men wielding hammers, the older man went behind the counter where both he and the staff member grappled with the would-be thieves.

The older man succeeded in chasing off two of the raiders, including the man with the shotgun.

He even administered a kick to one of the attackers as he made his escape.

The bravery of both the staff member and the punter meant that the raiders left empty-handed in a waiting black car.

The customer, who declined to be named, said that when he saw the raiders enter the shop he thought it was a joke.

However, he decided to intervene when he saw that the staff member was being attacked.

Bar One Racing confirmed the robbery occurred in the Glanmire shop but did not comment further on the matter.

Local councillor Ger Keohane said that the lack of a dedicated Garda station in Glanmire meant the area was a soft target for criminals.

The footage shows you that this is what people have to do to defend themselves and what they have,” said Mr Keohane.

“People like these criminals know that there is no Garda station in Glanmire and that everything is run out of Mayfield.

“People know it’s open country after Glanmire if they can get away with it,” he said.

Mr Keohane praised the actions of the customer and staff member in fighting off three armed and masked raiders.

“Fair play to both of them. You can see from the footage that the actions of the customer drove the staff member on to tackle the men also.

Both of them showed huge bravery,” he said.

Gardaí and detectives in the Mayfield district are now investigating the incident and are seeking the public’s assistance in tracking down the three male raiders.

They are specifically looking for information or witness sightings of the three suspects in the Riverstown, Glanmire area between 6pm and 7pm on Saturday.

They are also seeking any mobile phone or dashcam footage and any witness sightings of suspicious activity by a black saloon vehicle (Audi A4 or VW Passat) in the area in the same period of Saturday evening.

- Anyone with any information is asked to contact Mayfield Garda Station at 021-4558510 or the Garda Confidential Line at 1800 666 111.