A man has told how he fought off two masked intruders armed with an axe, pepper spray and a roll of gaffer tape.

Matthew Gould, 23, of Ellen Drive, Black Notley, decided to speak out after one of the men, Charlie Chant, 23, of Woolmongers Lane, Ingatestone, was jailed for nine months.

Mr Gould, a groundskeeper, said: “I had finished work early that day and I was working outside on my car.

“It was so cold that when I saw someone walk past all masked up it didn’t seem all that odd to me.

“But when I went back into my house a guy followed me into the front room and started throwing punches."

Mr Gould said it was not until the men had left that Mr Gould's father noticed the weapons they had left behind.

He said he hoped publicity about the incident, which happened at about 10am on February 13, might make neighbours more aware of their own security.

See the Braintree Times for the full story.