Milk bar worker fights off armed robber using shopping trolley

Extraordinary video has captured the moment a store worker being bashed by an attempted robber fought back and pinned the thug down with a shopping trolley.

Investigators said a man armed with a baseball bat allegedly tried to hold up a milk bar on Coleman Road about 7pm yesterday in the Melbourne suburb of Boronia.

The vision shows the moment the thug beings swinging his baseball bat at the 21-year-old worker Zheng Zhang, striking him multiple times.

But the shop attendant quickly fights back, throwing punches at the attendant before pushing him out of the store.

Mr Zhang told 9NEWS today he acted out to save his own life.

"I think, maybe he will kill me or something - so I need to do something," he said.

Outside the shop, quick-thinking passers-by bring the thug to the ground – even using a shopping trolley to pin him down until police arrived.

The robber was arrested at the scene and has been charged with attempted robbery.

Meanwhile, Mr Zhang was taken to hospital with cuts to his eyes, head and arms.

"I still can't understand why the man did that," he said.

It's also not the first time this milk bar has been targeted. The shop's owners say they've been robbed three times in two years, with a thief brandishing a knife on one occasion.

The armed assailant is expected to appear in the Melbourne Magistrates' Court tomorrow.