Shopkeeper sees off robbers with a cuppa

A SHOPKEEPER did not hesitate when knife-wielding robbers confronted her - she threw a scalding cup of tea over them.

Varsha Patel acted swiftly when two balaclava-clad men burst in clutching 10-inch knives and lunged over the counter at the till. The mother of two who has run the shop with her husband Yogesh, 50, for 20 years, was about to throw a bottle of whisky at them when they fled her store in Kensworth, Bedfordshire, with just a Lottery scratchcard dispenser.

They escaped by car and no one has been arrested for the attempted robbery - the first at the village shop.

Mrs Patel, 45, who was on her own in the shop at the time, said she reacted on instinct. "I was scared afterwards but at the time I just reacted on instinct. I have never been one to sit back and let people bully me.

"I am glad they ran away - I don't know what would have happened if there had been a stand-off.

"I was just about to take my first sip of tea and threw the contents in his face as he came towards me. He staggered back a bit and his friend was still hanging around so I threw my empty mug at his face."

Mrs Patel said she and her husband always make sure not to be alone at night. But she added: "You don't expect this to happen in broad daylight. Everything on the counter was thrown to the floor. They made such a mess but it was all over in what felt like two seconds."