Retiree fights back in home invasion south of Melbourne

A retiree has fought back against an intruder armed with a fake gun south-east of Melbourne.

A 65-year-old former army solider, identified only as Lawrence, answered the door at his Dromana home around 1.30am to find a masked man pointing a firearm at him.

Unaware the gun was plastic, Lawrence grabbed it, pointed it at the intruder and pulled the trigger.

The two men began to fight before eventually the suspect fled the scene.

Lawrence suffered some bruises to his face, but was not seriously injured.

He said if the gun wasn’t fake he wouldn’t have had a problem killing the suspect.

“I didn’t kill him,” he said.

“But I would have, I would have without doubt.”

Authorities are investigating if the attempted home invasion is connected to items Lawrence has for sale on Gumtree.

Police say the intruder’s face was covered with a black bandana.

Anyone with information related to this case is asked to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.