Footage of 50-year-old man taking on two offenders in Mermaid Waters who stole two cars
The group of armed attempted thieves who were foiled by a Gold Coast construction worker - dubbed Captain Underpants - are on CCTV scoping out another home. WATCH NEW VIDEO.
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Steve Middleton, the brave Gold Coaster who faced off against a group of armed attempted robbers wearing only his jocks, hopes all the attention leads to real action on youth crime.
“Hopefully it stirs things up a bit,” he told the Bulletin.
The group were left frightened after their run-in with Mr Middleton, with video footage showing one of the offenders literally tripping over himself as he bolted towards a stolen getaway car.
The youngsters Mr Middleton tussled with in Mermaid Waters are yet to be brought to justice.
The Middleton home in Hood Court isn’t the only place to be targeted by the group of would-be thieves.
A home just two blocks away was also hit in the early hours of Boxing Day morning, about an hour before.
Security footage shows a trio - in the same clothes and face coverings as those Mr Middleton confronted - scoping out the entryway of a Gold Coast home before jumping the fence.
Sneaking past the pool, two of them were making their way towards the house when they were suddenly startled and scared off.
Footage of 50-year-old man taking on two offenders in Mermaid Waters who stole two cars
December 26, 2022: A Gold Coast construction worker didn’t let being nude stop him taking on three weapon-wielding thieves in his street: “I quickly threw some jocks on and ran outside.”
Steve Middleton was up early on Boxing Day, preparing to go on a well-earned fishing trip.
Instead, he spotted two males going through family vehicles outside at 4.30am.
“I woke up and saw someone going through the car through the curtains. I just assumed it was my daughter’s partner,” the Mermaid Waters father-of-two said.
“Then I saw another head pop up on the other side, going through the other car. I was like ‘Oh sh*t, we’re being robbed’.
“I was naked, so I quickly threw some jocks on and ran outside.”
Mr Middleton shouted “oi” and startled the would-be Hood Court robbers: “I thought ‘bugger it, I’ll grab this bloke’ and gave him a bit of a tackle,” he recounted.
The wrestle moved out onto the street, and the culprit’s nearby friends – waiting in two stolen cars – ran to his aid. One had a baseball bat, the other had a knife.
“Old mate gave me a little nick with his knife,” Mr Middleton said, showing a cut to his hand he suffered.
“The other old mate was swinging at me with a baseball bat, so I was using this little fella as my shield.”
Mr Middleton lost the grip he had on the intruder’s shirt and “the boys got the hell outta there”, clearly shocked by the surprise encounter with the six-foot-three hero.
Mermaid Waters residents said the tussle “sounded like an all-in-brawl”.
One neighbour likened him to Superman, not just for his bravery, but for his makeshift crime-fighting costume.
It isn’t the first time the Middletons have been targeted, with his wife and daughters being victims of a home invasion in 2017.
With one daughter held up at gunpoint and the other punched in the face, Mr Middleton said “that was pretty hard core”.
But the latest attempted robbery left Mr Middleton amused, laughing about one of the trio who was “squealing like anything”.
The Middleton family had a big Christmas and Mr Middleton admitted being “dusty as hell” when he fought the wannabe robbers.
“It’s just something I didn’t expect to wake up to and rip into,” Mr Middleton said.
“As soon as the coppers came through and took the report I said ‘Am I right to go fishing yet?’ But we still had to wait for forensics to come through and do the fingerprints.”
Mr Middleton said his now-bandaged hand was “a bit sore”.
“Got the old stubbed toe too, which probably hurts more than the hand,” he said.
Once the cut heals, Mr Middleton said he would “absolutely” be going fishing to make up for his missed Boxing Day plans.
“I work too hard not to,” he said.
“This is basically the only time of the year that I can get off work.”
Footage of 50-year-old man taking on two offenders in Mermaid Waters who stole two cars
December 26, 2022: Shocking footage has been released of a local Boxing Day hero taking on three thieves – who had stolen two cars – in his underpants.
It shows the 50-year-old man chasing after two offenders after they had stolen two cars.
Police were called to a Hood Court address at Mermaid Waters around 4.40am on Monday.
A Gold Coast police spokesperson said the offenders confronted the man with a bat and knife.
They said a fight broke out and the man was cut on his hand.
The footage shows the man grabbing hold of one of the offenders for a length of time before another went over to them swinging the baseball bat.
Police said five men left the scene in the two stolen cars — a silver BMW X4 and a white Mazda CX-3.
The BMW was reported stolen from a Helensvale address this morning and the Mazda was not reported stolen at the time of the Mermaid Waters incident.
Police said investigations were ongoing.