A 73-year-old petrol-pump attendant fought off a knife-wielding robber with a bottle of rose wine.

Derek Greenwood picked up the £2.99 First Cape bottle after the masked raider confronted him and a colleague with a large chef’s knife at the Texaco Garage in Dill Hall Lane in Church.

The granddad-of-two said he was acting on pure instinct and insists he is no hero.

Detectives from Accrington CID are now hunting the robber who stormed into the garage at around 10pm on Thursday, June 30 demanding the contents of the till.

He escaped with less than £100 and left the female cashier attendant who he threatened shaken but unhurt.

Derek, of Hyndburn Road, Accrington, a retired plasterer, who works four-nights a week at the Texaco Garage is back in work.

The brave granddad, who celebrated his 25th wedding anniversary this week to wife Wendy, said: "I was just getting ready to shut the garage down for the night when a man came in demanding money from the cashier so he could put it in his blue bag.

"I was talking to the cashier with my back facing him when he came in. I turned round and was face to face with him so grabbed him and said ‘what are you up to?’.

"Then I saw this great big chef’s knife so I stepped back and picked a bottle of wine up.

"I didn’t want to hit him but just wanted to put him off a bit. He ended up grabbing some money and running."

He added: "I just feel sorry for my colleague as she was shaken up by it all. I am no hero.

"You don’t have any option, I had to try something and it was just instinct.

"I don’t know how long it lasted, it all happened so fast so it is difficult to recall.

"I know he had a baseball cap on, a mask and a hooded top but I wouldn’t be able to identify him although he had a local accent."

Derek’s boss Ian Cox, 41, said: "What he did was very brave but I think it was gut instinct.

"Some people are made like that and Derek certainly is."

Detective Sergeant Paul Langley from Hyndburn CID said the robber fled the scene down the hill in the direction of Express Gifts.

He said: "I would appeal to anyone who was in the area at the time and either witnessed what happened or saw the man prior to or after the incident to come forward and contact police."

The robber is described as a white man, around 5ft 9ins with a skinny build. He was wearing a black hooded jacket, a black baseball cap, a black scarf covering his face and black tracksuit bottoms and trainers.

Anyone with information on the incident is asked to call Hyndburn CID on 01254 353741.

A 26-year-old from Oswaldtwistle was this week arrested in connection with the incident but has since been released pending further enquiries.