A grandmother has described the dramatic moment she fought off two masked robbers armed with a meat cleaver before chasing them out the shop with their own knife.
The men ran into the garage and threatened terrified shop worker Trude Mian, 65, with the six inch blade and another knife.
One of the robbers grabbed Mrs Mian's wrist and held her at knife point as they forced her to hand over £50 from the till, a court heard.
But when they demanded to see the safe, plucky Mrs Mian told them they would have to get past her first before getting their hands on any more money.
Today, a jury at Exeter Crown Court watched CCTV footage of the shocking scenes in November last year before hearing the defiant grandmother's account of her ordeal.
The footage show Mrs Mian, wife of garage owner Khaliq, pressing an alarm button before picking up a knife left on counter as the robbers raid the till.
The final shots on the CCTV show her fighting back and chasing off the two men at knifepoint.
Lee Prouse, 24, and his girlfriend Jordane Morris, 21, have pleaded guilty to the charge of robbery.
Prouse is alleged to have gone inside armed with a knife while Jordane drove the getaway car.
Jamie Latta, 27, has pleaded guilty and identified himself as the attacker wielding a meat cleaver.
At the time all three were homeless, the court heard.
'Just before closing time two men came running into the shop,' Mrs Mian, the wife of garage owner Khaliq, told detectives in an interview played at Exeter Crown Court.
'I thought it was a Halloween joke until I saw the balaclavas and knives and they started shouting at me to hand over the effing money.
'One got behind the counter and stood next to me and I saw the phone and thought I would pick it up and dial 999.
'The chap with the cleaver leaned over and pushed me and I fell backwards against the cigarette cupboard and he started hitting the telephone with the cleaver.
'When he did that I thought ‘this is it’. The other chap came towards me and told me to open the till and I told him he was making me nervous.
'I opened the till and at the same time pressed the panic button and he said to the other chap that I had set off the alarm.'
The robbers then demanded that Mrs Mian show them safe but she refused - telling them they would have to get past her first.
The grandmother added: 'I saw he had left the knife on the counter and picked it up and said "you’d better go". I did hold the knife in a threatening manner and I ran after them.
Mrs Mian then dialled 999.
The pair, wearing black balaclavas, burst into Knowle Garage, in Braunton, Devon, on Saturday evening at 10pm on November 10.
One carried the meat cleaver and the other a six inch knife, described by police as a Kitchen Devil chef's knife with an un-serrated edge, which Mrs Mian plucked off the counter.
A police spokesman said the weapon was about 30cm long with a blade of around 16cm.
Amazingly, Mrs Mian went straight back to work on Monday, despite being exhausted from her nightmare ordeal and a lack of sleep.
The prosecution claims all three planned and carried out the attack in which the two men wore balaclavas and hoodies to cover their faces.
They escaped with around £60 and the Crown say Prouse and Morris are linked to the raid by forensic and mobile phone evidence which puts them at the scene at the time.
The trial continues.
The men ran into the garage and threatened terrified shop worker Trude Mian, 65, with the six inch blade and another knife.
One of the robbers grabbed Mrs Mian's wrist and held her at knife point as they forced her to hand over £50 from the till, a court heard.
But when they demanded to see the safe, plucky Mrs Mian told them they would have to get past her first before getting their hands on any more money.
Today, a jury at Exeter Crown Court watched CCTV footage of the shocking scenes in November last year before hearing the defiant grandmother's account of her ordeal.
The footage show Mrs Mian, wife of garage owner Khaliq, pressing an alarm button before picking up a knife left on counter as the robbers raid the till.
The final shots on the CCTV show her fighting back and chasing off the two men at knifepoint.
Lee Prouse, 24, and his girlfriend Jordane Morris, 21, have pleaded guilty to the charge of robbery.
Prouse is alleged to have gone inside armed with a knife while Jordane drove the getaway car.
Jamie Latta, 27, has pleaded guilty and identified himself as the attacker wielding a meat cleaver.
At the time all three were homeless, the court heard.
'Just before closing time two men came running into the shop,' Mrs Mian, the wife of garage owner Khaliq, told detectives in an interview played at Exeter Crown Court.
'I thought it was a Halloween joke until I saw the balaclavas and knives and they started shouting at me to hand over the effing money.
'One got behind the counter and stood next to me and I saw the phone and thought I would pick it up and dial 999.
'The chap with the cleaver leaned over and pushed me and I fell backwards against the cigarette cupboard and he started hitting the telephone with the cleaver.
'When he did that I thought ‘this is it’. The other chap came towards me and told me to open the till and I told him he was making me nervous.
'I opened the till and at the same time pressed the panic button and he said to the other chap that I had set off the alarm.'
The robbers then demanded that Mrs Mian show them safe but she refused - telling them they would have to get past her first.
The grandmother added: 'I saw he had left the knife on the counter and picked it up and said "you’d better go". I did hold the knife in a threatening manner and I ran after them.
Mrs Mian then dialled 999.
The pair, wearing black balaclavas, burst into Knowle Garage, in Braunton, Devon, on Saturday evening at 10pm on November 10.
One carried the meat cleaver and the other a six inch knife, described by police as a Kitchen Devil chef's knife with an un-serrated edge, which Mrs Mian plucked off the counter.
A police spokesman said the weapon was about 30cm long with a blade of around 16cm.
Amazingly, Mrs Mian went straight back to work on Monday, despite being exhausted from her nightmare ordeal and a lack of sleep.
The prosecution claims all three planned and carried out the attack in which the two men wore balaclavas and hoodies to cover their faces.
They escaped with around £60 and the Crown say Prouse and Morris are linked to the raid by forensic and mobile phone evidence which puts them at the scene at the time.
The trial continues.
Source : DailyMail
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