A petite shop assistant has been praised for her bravery after she barred the way of a robber who helped himself to bags of cash next to the til.
Salma Choudhury, who stands at just over 5ft tall, caught Shaun Brown stealing nine bags of coins from the Best One shop, in Hinckley Road, Leicester, at 9.30pm on Sunday, April 27.
The 25-year-old had been getting fresh stock from a storeroom when the robber saw his chance and went behind the counter to grab the bags, containing £150.
When Salma saw what had happened she blocked the path of 5ft 11ins Brown (29) in an attempt to stop him leaving with the money.
She only relented when the robber used his strength to force his way past her, pushing and kicking her in the process. Her intervention resulted in the thief leaving behind one of the bags of cash he was trying to steal.
Salma's actions were praised by Judge Simon Hammond when he jailed Brown, of Upper Temple Walk, Beaumont Leys, Leicester, for three years at Leicester Crown Court.
Judge Hammond said: "Corner shops like this provide an invaluable service to the community, staying open late at night and they're particularly vulnerable.
"This was a lone female working at night. She had the guts to block him, but he barged his way through.
"He saw she was alone and vulnerable and he used considerable force.
"I'm publicly commending her for her brave actions."
Salma, who lives in the Hinckley Road area, had a few days off after the incident and then returned to work.
She told the Mercury: "I didn't have any fear, I just wanted to know what he was up to.
"He had been in the shop a few minutes earlier, on his phone, looking round.
"I had been out the back getting stock and when I came back he was behind the counter and I saw him picking up the bags of change."
As she attempted to block him in behind the narrow shop counter, Brown used his superior strength, hitting her repeatedly. The struggle was captured on CCTV.
Salma, who tackled another robber trying to steal cigarettes by vaulting over the counter at a previous job, added: "After a few hits which hurt my shoulder I gave up, but I managed to save £10.
"I don't think he thought I would put up a fight because I am a woman, but I just wanted to stop him, that was my aim.
"I was all right afterwards. I am quite a calm person, although I was in pain.
"The incident has made me stronger."
Shop owner Vimesh Gandhi 29, of the Anstey Lane area of Leicester, was at a family celebration in Milton Keynes, in Northamptonshire, when the incident happened. Salma pressed a panic button which sent an alert to Vimesh's phone.
He said: "I tried ringing Salma and the shop, but she was obviously in shock. I just wanted to know she was okay.
"She's a brave girl, but I told her off because I was not happy with what she did.
"I've always told staff not to put themselves at risk.
"We know the 90 per cent of our customers by their first names, so something like this was very stressful and we've had to make changes in the shop."
Vimesh also praised the police for their handling of the incident.
"When I reported the robbery to the police, officers arrived in my shop in no time, literally within a few minutes," he said.
"They started the investigation straight away, took our statements and the support that we received throughout was absolutely amazing."
Speaking of Brown's jail term, Vimesh said: "I'm happy with the sentence and feel we can put this behind us now."
Brown admitted the robbery.
The court heard he had 74 offences on his record, of which 45 were theft-related, although he had no previous convictions for robbery.
David Charman, mitigating, said: "It was opportunistic.
"He saw the money bags and thought she was out of the way in the stock room and when he took the money she came down and tried to block his path.
"The reason he committed the offence was because his partner said she wanted some money for their new baby.
"He very much regrets it."
