A Nottingham shopkeeper has said she will not return to her business of more than 40 years after bravely trying to fend off a knife-wielding robber. Anna Patel, 63, who owns Pricewise in Radford Road, Hyson Green, used a chair to stop Nicole Johnson, 21, from getting around the counter as she brandished a knife "as long as your arm".
Recalling the ordeal, which happened on June 29, the shopkeeper said she "didn't think much of it" until Johnson tried to get around the counter. "She didn't tell me that's what she wanted, nobody comes round the counter, she was pushing me away. I said you can't come round here," Ms Patel told Nottinghamshire Live.
"I said tell me what you want and I'll bring it to you. I tried to protect myself with the chair and she started stabbing it. She said 'this is what I'll do to you'. I had never seen a knife like that, it was longer than your arm's length."
Read more: Nottingham shopkeeper used her chair to fight off robber with huge knife
Ms Patel, of Compton Acres, tussled with Johnson for around 20 minutes before the robber leapt over the counter, something the shopkeeper said shocked her. "I wasn't quick enough to protect myself. It was my mistake," she said. "She pressed every button on the till and said 'why is it not opening?' I thought I'm not going to help you."
"She managed to open it and ran and I ran behind her." Fortunately Ms Patel was able to flag down a passing police car and the robber was arrested two days later. Johnson, of Trowell Road in Wollaton, who pleaded guilty, received four years and eight months in prison for robbery, and one year and one month concurrently for possessing the knife. She is likely to serve two-thirds before he release on licence.
But Ms Patel said the experience was part of the reason she would not be returning to work at the shop. She said just three months later a man came into the shop and demanded she handed over bottles of alcohol in a separate incident not long after. "I have been here 40 years and haven't gone through this hell," she said. "As much as I love the shop, it's part of the reason I'm not going back. You should be able to go into work and feel safe."
"Even the police asked whether I've thought about retiring. The area is heavily populated with drug users and they have worn the area down into the ground."
Shamal Mohammed, who currently runs the shop, has since had a screen installed on top of the counter.
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