WITH darkness falling outside, Diane Pease found herself alone in her family-run newsagent when two masked men burst through the door wielding a knife.

Without a thought for her safety, Mrs Pease bravely ran straight towards the robbers, avoiding a violent lunge from one of the men, before setting off the panic alarm.

The 45-year-old says her courageous actions not only saved cash from the till but protected her teenage son from danger.

The reluctant heroine explained: “Kids nowadays think they can get away with what they want and I just wanted to stand up to them.

“When I first saw them come in I thought they were larking about, I thought it was a Halloween stunt or something.

“I threw a can of Pepsi at them at first but when they left me alone and ran over to the till I just focused on hitting the panic button.

“I had my youngest son upstairs and knew that if I set off the alarm they were probably going to run off."

Panic button

CCTV footage shows a brief scuffle which saw one of the intruders attempt to stab the shopkeeper across the counter before Mrs Pease successfully hit the panic button.

Thrown into confusion by the mother-of-three’s tenacity and the ringing alarm, the pair - their identities masked by hoods, bandanas and overalls - fled empty-handed at around 7.10pm.

Mrs Pease, who has run Avenue Stores in Avenue Road, Penge, for 16 years, added: "Things could have been a lot different if the knife had been facing the other way, I was lucky and escaped with just a couple of bruises.

“I don’t think I am brave. I just did what came into my head, I wanted to protect my son.

“It just shows you that until something like this happens you don’t know what you are capable of.”

Police investigation

Police have said the shop’s panic alarm was the key to warding off the robbers and officers are reviewing the CCTV of the attempted robbery as they attempt to track down the assailants.

Mrs Pease husband of 20 years, Paul, was out of the shop at time but says he is thankful his wife’s terrifying ordeal on October 16 left her without more serious injuries.

The 51-year-old said: “When I first heard about the attack I didn’t care about the money, I was just glad she was safe.

“My wife is a very strong woman and when she believes in something she sticks by it.

"We work hard for our money and why should someone come in and try and take it from us?

“I probably would have stayed down the other end of the shop but Diane is very determined."

He added: “The whole thing lasted 57 seconds but it seemed to last a lifetime when we watched the CCTV back."

Both suspects are described as white, around 17 years old and of a slim build. One of the men was wearing a grey hooded top and grey tracksuit bottoms.

Anyone with any information should contact Bromley Police on 01689 891 212 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.