Brave shopkeeper chases away Grimsby gunman

A shopkeeper has spoken about how he scared off an armed robber despite looking down the barrel of a gun.

John Patel from Grimsby did not know if the pistol was real or not. But he picked up a baseball bat and chased the gunman out of his store.

The robber - Shaun Hutson - has now been jailed for eight years for holding up a series of North Lincolnshire shops using an imitation firearm and a knife.

Hutson entered Mr Patel's shop and demanded cash from the till.

The shopkeeper said: "I was determined not to give him the money. I'd had a bad day anyway and I just lost it.

"You don't think, do you, when things like that happen. It was just sort of general adrenaline what kicks in and I made my mind up he was getting nothing and that was it."

He has been running the shop for 14 years.

Det Insp Kerry Bull from Humberside Police said: "We think the sentence sends a strong message that the courts wont tolerate armed robbery.

"Things are hard enough for shopkeepers without things like this happening."

Jonathan Brown reports.