Shopkeeper, 82, fights off robber with her walking stick

June Turner had run her newsagent for 40 years without any bother until homeless thief Aaron Mountford walked in last September.

An elderly shopkeeper has been awarded for her bravery after trying to fight off a violent robber hunting for cash to feed his drug habit.

June Turner, 82, had run the AJ and J Newsagents in Hanley, Staffordshire, for more than 40 years without any bother until homeless thief Aaron Mountford walked in on September 3 last year.

Wrapped up in a bright blue sleeping bag, the 28-year-old demanded cash before stalking around the counter and confronting June behind the till where a struggle ensued.

She attempted to hit out at him with a metal crutch, but it had little effect on Mountford who shoved the frail pensioner to the floor before fleeing with around £50 in takings and a handful of cigarette packets.

He was caught after his DNA was recovered from the sleeping bag he left behind, as well as from the till, crutch and victim’s clothes.

Mountford, who is already serving a four-and-a-half year prison term for another terrifying robbery at a Co-Op, was handed an extra two-year stretch on top after pleading guilty to the latest raid.

Judge David Fletcher made a High Sheriff’s Award to June of £250 for her courage in dealing with the thug.

June later recalled: ‘I’ve been here for 45 years and no trouble until a man came into the shop and demanded money. I wouldn’t give it him so he came around and helped himself to the till.

‘He dropped it on the floor, so I got me stick and I walloped him one.’

June suffered bruising to her left cheek and was left shaken after being shoved to the ground.

Defending, Hamish Noble claimed Mountford was ashamed over the robbery.

He said: ‘The difficulty he has had is a drug addiction. He was under the influence at the time.

‘There was a drug debt of his own making, one that had consequences for him. There was a demand for quick payment of that debt.’