This is the dramatic moment when a carpenter sends terrified tool thieves on the run when he catches them stealing his tools – before they callously try to run him over as they flee.
Footage shows a red Citroen car stopping outside a house in Askern, Doncaster, South Yorkshire, before two men in tracksuits jump out.
They are then seen rummaging through a van and trying to retrieve equipment from the driveway.
It is at this point that Paul Duffy, 39, who was working in the house sees them and gives chase, causing the thieves to drop some of the equipment.
The father-of-two then throws a plank at one of the attackers, who charges back into the back of the car.
Footage shows a red Citroen car stopping outside a house in Askern, Doncaster, South Yorkshire, before two men in tracksuits jump out
Paul Duffy, from Wakefield, told MailOnline how they stole a £300 drill but he could have lost thousands if he hadn’t caught them and intervened
They are then seen rummaging through a van and trying to retrieve equipment from the driveway.
It is at this point that Paul Duffy, 39, who was working in the house sees them and gives chase, causing the thieves to drop some of the equipment.
The other thief and Mr Duffy are seen yelling at each other, before the former breaks off one of the Citroen’s brake lights and throws it at the joiner.
Mr. Duffy grabs another plank as the car appears to pull away before quickly backing up the driveway.
The car crashes through the gate and crashes into a parked vehicle, narrowly missing Mr. Duffy, who is forced to jump out of the way.
Mr Duffy, from Wakefield, told MailOnline how they stole a £300 drill but he could have lost thousands had he not caught them and intervened.
“When I turned the corner I initially thought it was a delivery boy, you can see in the video I walk quite casually,” he said.
But then my instincts kicked in. I was told a lot of people saying it wasn’t worth it, and that I shouldn’t have chased them, but this is how I make a living, I had to protect my tools. .
“I had to do something, and I didn’t know if one of them might get in the car and get something else, so what I did was also a deterrent.”
The father-of-two then throws a plank at one of the attackers, who charges back to the back of the car.
The other thief and Mr Duffy are seen yelling at each other, before the former breaks off one of the Citroen’s brake lights and throws it at the joiner.
Mr. Duffy grabs another plank as the car appears to pull away before quickly backing up the driveway
The car crashes through the gate and crashes into a parked vehicle, narrowly missing Mr. Duffy, who is forced to jump aside as the woman whose house he was working comes to his aid.
Mr Duffy has a teenage daughter and a four-year-old son, who can be regularly seen on his social media pages as he accompanies his father to work
Mr Duffy said he was frustrated, more than 24 hours after the attack, because he had not received a call from the police, just a crime reference number.
“I felt like I had to take matters into my own hands because I know nothing will be done about it,” he said.
“You see things like this happening all the time now because it’s an easy crime and they know they can get away with it.
Then they thought it was an acceptable response to run me over. I’m still pretty excited about it.’
Mr Duffy has a teenage daughter and a four-year-old son, who can be regularly seen on his social media pages as he accompanies his father to work.
‘He’s my little helper. It was lucky he wasn’t there this time, because he could easily have been hurt too.’
MailOnline has contacted South Yorkshire Police for comment.