WATCH | Pretoria motorist sends would-be hijackers running for their lives

It was a disappointing moment for two criminals when their attempt to hijack a motorist in Pretoria went horribly wrong.

“Get out the gun and protect myself‚” was his first thought.

That is what Brad Redmayne said on Thursday after he stopped the two criminals on Wednesday afternoon from hijacking his car outside the Woodlands Lifestyle Estate in the east of Pretoria.

“People should be prepared to not be the victim. If you’re the victim‚ they will pick up on that and you will be a victim.”

CCTV footage shows the hijackers’ sedan pulling up behind a dark SUV at the entrance of the estate on Wednesday. Two men leap out of the sedan and run towards the SUV. It is unclear from the video what happens next‚ but the criminals scurry away in a panic and almost overtake their getaway car.

Redmayne and his partner‚ Samantha Gregory‚ were following another car into the estate to pick up a family member. The first hijacker hit the driver window with a ball-peen hammer‚ but it did not break. The second hijacker had a gun‚ but did not use it.

“As I turned around and saw the guy holding a hammer and he was wearing a balaclava mask‚ I twisted in my seat‚ reached to pull up my shirt and draw my firearm‚” Redmayne said.

“At that point they saw what I was doing and then he must have alerted the second guy who was coming towards the car and then they ran off.”

Redmayne could not level his gun at the criminals before they escaped.

“It was five seconds from the time the first guy got out of the car to the time they ran away.”

Redmayne and Gregory were unscathed and there is only a scratch on the driver’s side window.

Redmayne said they might have been followed from the Menlyn Maine shopping centre.

Estate manager Estelle du Plessis said no arrests have been made.

TimesLIVE has approached the police for comment.

Meanwhile social media indulged in some schadenfreude at the expense of the hijackers.

Roelien Kruger said: “Maybe he offered them polony when he tried handing the car over.”

Janette Booth wrote: “No honour amongst thieves! Those in the car probably couldn't believe it when they were overtaken by those two.”

Naledi Nhanha Meselane said it looked like something out of a Leon Schuster movie.

“This is so funny. They ran so fast even the guy driving the car is leaving them behind.”

Thabo Manganye said: “They just made Usain Bolt think about coming back to compete. These guys can run shame.”