A TRAVELLING showman from Headley is to receive a bravery award from Hampshire Constabulary’s Chief Constable Olivia Pinkney.

Tommy Jones, 50, was shot with a pellet from an air gun and stabbed while tackling Lindford robber Jonathan Pay, 46, during an attempted robbery at Lloyds Bank in Liphook last May.

Tommy said: “I reacted completely on instinct, but my life could have ended that day. My wife was in the queue to deposit some money and when it happened at first we all thought it was a joke. But I quickly realised that the guy was serious. So I decided to go for him and punched him. He tried to get away but I stopped him.

“Then he fell to the floor and I nearly got the gun off him, when his friend stabbed me with a knife and then I was shot in the face. They both ran off. The staff at the bank were nice and apologetic and tried to help me after I was stabbed and shot. Hampshire Police were outstanding and I have been nominated for a bravery award by the chief constable, which will be presented in January.”

Pay, of Liphook Road, Lindford, was jailed for 16-and-a-half years at Winchester Crown Court last week.

He was charged with two counts of attempted robbery, one count of possession of an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence, and one count of wounding with intent.

In October he pleaded guilty to the charge of wounding with intent, having already admitted attempted robbery and possession of the firearm.

“I am really happy with the verdict,” Tommy said.

“He (Pay) deserves what he was given. I have since been referred to St George’s Hospital, in Tooting, as a high risk because I could be totally paralysed in my face if they operate to take the pellet out.

“I am on more than 100 tablets a day and my two consultants are arguing whether or not to take out the pellet, which is embedded in the base of my skull.

“When I lie down on my right side, I get what feels like an electric shock, like a sharp object in my ear and my cheek, as well as stiffness in my neck. The pellet went through my cheek and earhole and is now lodged in the base of my neck.

“I personally want them to take it out, but I have to have another CAT scan to see if it has moved. The consultants believe the pellet is caught up in scar tissue. Since the incident, my wife has not been well. She gets the jitters and does not want to go out on her own and she has counselling.”

On May 16 last year at 4.10pm police were called to reports that two men had demanded cash at the bank. One was armed with a knife and the other with an air gun, which was fired.

Both men then fled the scene, with nothing taken.

A 31-year-old man, of no fixed address, who was also arrested, was later released without charge.

Det cons Kat Bird said: “The sentence will provide some amount of closure to Mr Jones and his wife.

“Jonathan Pay and another man entered Lloyds Bank armed with a gun and knife. When Pay approached the counter he was challenged by a customer.

“That customer tackled Pay to the ground causing his face to be uncovered and dislodging sunglasses which later forensically linked him to the offence. The man’s wife grabbed a bag containing gloves and a balaclava, which Pay was carrying. These items, which he had forgotten to put on, also forensically linked him to the scene. During the struggle a second man, who we have been unable to identify, stabbed the customer in the abdomen before Pay shot him with an air gun.

“The judge stated that Jonathan Pay had acted in a ‘chilling and callous way’ and that it is ‘clear that (he) is dangerous. We are continuing to carry out enquiries to establish the identity of the second man involved.”