This is the dramatic moment a carpenter sends terrified tool thieves fleeing when he catches them in the act of stealing his tools – before they callously try and run him over while making their getaway.

Footage shows a red Citroen car pulling up 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 take equipment off the driveway.

It is at this point that Paul Duffy, 39, who was working in the house, spots them and gives chase, causing the thieves to drop some of the equipment.

The father-of-two then throws a plank of wood at one of the assailants, who dashes back into the rear of the car.

Footage shows a red Citroen car pulling up 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 had he not caught them and intervened

They are then seen rummaging through a van and trying to take equipment off the driveway.

It is at this point that Paul Duffy, 39, who was working in the house, spots them and gives chase, causing the thieves to drop some of the equipment

The other thief and Mr Duffy are then seen shouting at each other, before the former snaps off one of the Citroen’s brake lights and throws it towards the joiner.

Mr Duffy picks up another plank as the car appears to drive away before it swiftly reverses back onto the drive.

The car smashes through the gate and 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. 

‘As I’ve come round the corner, I initially thought it was a delivery drivery, you can see in the video I’m walking quite casually,’ he said.

‘But then my instincts kicked in. I’ve been getting 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 would maybe go into their car and get something else, so what I did was also to act as a deterrent.’

The father-of-two then throws a plank of wood at one of the assailants, who dashes back into the rear of the car

The other thief and Mr Duffy are then seen shouting at each other, before the former snaps off one of the Citroen’s brake lights and throws it towards the joiner

Mr Duffy picks up another plank as the car appears to drive away before it swiftly reverses back onto the drive

The car smashes through the gate and into a parked vehicle, narrowly missing Mr Duffy who is forced to jump out of the way as the woman whose house he was working on comes to his aid

Mr Duffy has a teenage daughter and a four-year-old son, who is regularly seen on his social media pages accompanying his father on jobs

Mr Duffy said he has been frustrated, more than 24 hours after the attack, to have not received a phone call from police, just a crime reference number. 

‘I felt I had to take matters into my own hands because I know nothing will be done about it,’ he said. 

‘You see this sort of thing happening all the time now, because it’s an easy crime and they know they can get away with it.

‘Then they thought trying to run me over was an acceptable response. I’m still quite wound up about it all.’

Mr Duffy has a teenage daughter and a four-year-old son, who is regularly seen on his social media pages accompanying his father on jobs.

‘He’s my little helper. It was lucky that he wasn’t there this time because he could have easily been hurt as well.’

MailOnline has contacted South Yorkshire Police for comment.