Ananova:

A masked gunman was hit on the head four times with a hammer after a customer intervened to stop an attempted robbery on a pizza shop.

The would-be robber had ordered everyone in Stoney's Pizza, Columbus, Ohio, to drop to the floor.

Witnesses said he searched an office for money, but when he couldn't open a till, he tried to get away.

But customer, JR Croy, used his truck to block the gunman's getaway and a sledgehammer to subdue him.

"I was sitting here with the hammer, and he pointed the gun up at me. After hitting him in the head with a hammer four times, he wouldn't go down."

The pizza shop has given Croy a $500 (£276) reward, which he plans to use to pay some bills. The weapon the man was carrying turned out to be a paintball gun.

Croy says he will be returning to Stoney's to keep an eye on the place, reports the newsnet5 website.