The Times Media reports that the 28 workers of CT Building Contractors were on the second floor of a house under construction when one of them saw a motorist catapulting into his driveway with another vehicle hot on his heels.

“Lunch time was almost over when I saw the man from next door rushing into his house with a Golf 7 following behind him. I noticed that the security guard of the estate had tried to run and had injured himself trying to run. When I saw a person wearing a balaclava with a gun‚ I just took a rock and threw it at his car. It hit the windscreen‚” the construction worker casually told Times Media. He did not want to be named.

“I screamed and called my other colleagues and they came and also just starting flinging rocks at the car of the hijackers‚” he said.

At this point‚ Dino Salgado‚ who was the target of the hijackers‚ had managed to drive his vehicle into his garage and shut it behind him‚ while the men in overalls took on the gunmen outside his garage door.

“I think when the rock hit the car‚ they thought someone was shooting at them‚” said the construction worker.

The balaclava-wearing men got out of the vehicle and three tried to open the gate leading to the house which had closed behind them‚ leaving them trapped in their victims’ yard.

One started shooting at the construction workers but the group continued to hurl stones and rocks.

“It was like something from a movie. I had never heard a gun being fired that close to me.

“Eventually‚ one of the hijackers got into the car and rammed it through the gate and they all got in and the car sped down the road.”

Police officers drove into the estate about three minutes later. They had come from the opposite direction from where the gang had driven off in their battered‚ dented and scratched vehicle.

Meanwhile‚ the man who narrowly escaped the hijacking took to Facebook to honour his heroes.

“They continued to throw these rocks while the guy shot at them until the car fled with a broken windshield‚ mirror caps etc. I would just like to thank the 28 workers who launched that endless volley of debris at the hijackers so that I had enough time to speed into my garage and close it. Nice to see South Africans united against crime‚ you guys are champions!” part of Salgado’s post read.

He shared a picture of his heroes. His post has been shared thousands of times on several platforms and the construction team has won an outpouring of praise with 1‚200 comments generated from just one Facebook thread.

Yvonne Hellyar shared she viewed their action as‚ “The power of ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances. Maybe the lesson for all of us here‚ is to just ‘do something - anything’. Don’t ignore evil. Wonderful heroes!”

Edna Segopa added: “This means not all South African brothers support crimes. Some of our brothers are prepared to fight with tooth and nail to fight against crime…Well done beautiful African brothers…Keep up the good spirit”.

Napster Namane extended his thanks to them for their bravery: “Another family got to see another day. We need more like you to make this country great”.

The construction company’s owner said he was grateful to work with such heroic men.

Richard Munro said he trusts his workers “with his life”. Munro said people are bringing gifts of appreciation for the team‚ with some pizzas being delivered today.

The humble builders‚ who were also treated to lunch and R100 each from the Salgado family‚ say while they appreciate the public appreciation‚ they fear the hijackers could decide to track them down from their Facebook picture and seek revenge.

Despite this‚ the group says they would do it all again.