A woman who fought off a knife-wielding robber in Tiverton has said the publicity surrounding her actions is “absolutely mad.”

CCTV footage was released this week from the Mini Market (Happy Shopper) on Westexe North showing feisty shop worker Lorraine McCalliskey, 36, pulling out a knife of her own to a robber who tried to hold-up the store.

The incident occurred at around 10pm on Wednesday, November 8, and the dramatic CCTV was first published by Devon Live two weeks later following advice from the police.

Lorraine is back behind the counter serving customers
Lorraine is back behind the counter serving customers

Lorraine said: “I’ve had a woman from America call, I’ve got people at the school when I take my children to school have approached me, even when I’ve been out shopping.

“It’s been on BBC Spotlight, ITV West Country, I didn’t realise it would be that important. It’s surreal, and I can’t believe this is the result of that two-second incident.

“I nearly didn’t even call the police because he didn’t steal anything and I wasn’t hurt so I thought I’d just lock up since he had gone.

“I thought I’d better call the police as he had a knife and he may have tried it again. I didn’t think it was that much of a big deal.

“We didn’t tell that many people at first because the police had to do their investigations, so not a lot of people knew about it, but now a lot of customers do say something which is quite nice.”

The Happy Shopper / Mini Market in Tiverton
The Happy Shopper / Mini Market in Tiverton

Shop owner Alizon Martin said they had not been prepared for how much publicity they would receive but that the customers had been fantastic in their support.

She said: “Everyone wants to check to make sure it was definitely what they had seen, whether it was Lorraine and the Mini Market, everyone wants to know about it. A lot of people have said things like ‘good on her’ and have been very supportive.

“He’s probably the only robber who has come in to commit a robbery and gone away with less than he came with by leaving his bike behind, so I hope it has given a message to people as clearly we’re not the kind of staff that people want to trifle with, not that we would do something like that to your normal everyday individual, but then again, he wasn’t your normal everyday individual was he.

“We know that the investigation is on-going, they have got quite a few leads, but they don’t know any more than that at the moment, but I’m sure police are working very hard on our behalf.”

Anyone with information should call police on 101 quoting CR/97740/17.