Two police officers who went to McDonald's on a tea break walked into an attempted robbery which ended with them Tasering a masked raider.
Knifeman Zachery Ryan stormed a Coventry branch of the fast food chain and threatened the boss for cash.
Footage from the diner shows him burst into the Earlsdon restaurant armed with a blade.
The manager was finishing his shift just after midnight on August 7 this year when he heard a colleague scream and customers fleeing, reports Coventry Live.
He bravely confronted Ryan, who jumped over the counter and pointed an eight-inch blade into the 28-year-old's stomach and demanded cash.
But he was saved when two West Midlands Police officers who had walked into the Alvis Retail Park restaurant for a coffee rushed towards Ryan as customers fled the scene.
The 41-year-old was tasered, disarmed and was soon slumped on the kitchen floor in handcuffs.
Body-cam footage catches attack
The officers’ body-worn video also shows the moment the store manager, who would not be named, thanked them for coming to the rescue.
He was seen coming over and said: "Where did you guys come from?"
One officer replied: "It's alright mate, we were coming in for a drink, we were just there!"
Ryan was jailed for five years at Warwick Crown Court on Thursday, October 24 after admitting a charge of robbery.
He will spend another three years on licence.
The manager told police: “I was in the office having finished my shift when I heard a scream from one of my team. I ran out to find a man in a clown mask holding a big knife.
"I can remember the light glinting off the blade. All I could see was his eyes.
“He made threats for money and when I told him we only had one till with cash, and that there wasn’t much in it, he got agitated and pushed the knife against my stomach.
"Wow"
“I turned to go back to the office, to buy some time; I knew it was a case of fight or flight and I had a decision to make. But the moment I turned my back I heard a loud crack; I didn’t realise at the time but it was the sound of the police officer’s taser going off.
“One moment I was being threatened at knifepoint and the next the guy was on the floor and in handcuffs. I thought ‘wow’ where did you guys come from. It was like a miracle and perfect timing.
“I’ll always be grateful for what they did that night. They and their colleagues are welcome to pop in for a coffee on their break whenever they like!"
Det Insp Kat Sibley added: “The officers were patrolling shortly after midnight and had stopped on a ‘refs’ break. They were in exactly the right place at the right time.
“Thankfully no-one was hurt and the man was rightly handed a jail term for what was a nasty robbery."
