Pregnant woman threatened with a baseball bat

A heavily pregnant woman has described the terrifying moment she fought off an armed man who was trying to rob her Kirkby shop.

Brave Rajvir Uppa (24) said she feared for the lift of her baby as she refused to give in to the demands of the masked man who was armed with a baseball bat.

The heroic shopkeeper, who is 35 weeks pregnant, was alone behind the counter at the Johal off licence and general store on Park Street when the man burst in and confronted her.

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She said: “A man burst in holding the bat, he was swearing and shouting ‘Give me the money.’

“I was face to face with him and I grabbed the bat. I was screaming for help and struggled around with him.”

She said the man tried to open the till with his other hand to get at the cash and elbowed her in the stomach.

“I was shouting for help and my mother came downstairs as quickly as she could,” said Rajvir.

“When he saw her he ran off.”

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A second masked man on the lookout outside the store also fled after the raid at 8.45pm on Friday.

Rajvir added: “I was really shook up and crying. With me being pregnant the first thing I thought was ‘Am I going to lose my baby?’

“I was so relieved when the baby started moving later on, which made me feel reassured.”

“The police have been great and an ambulance came straight away.”

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Police are hunting the men who ran off empty handed in separate directions, one down Hartley Road and the other Park Street.

The say the offenders were both white, were wearing blue hoodies with black scarves across their faces. They were of a slim build.

Acting Det Sgt Matthew Dumbrell, of Kirkby Police, said: “These cowardly offenders threatened a heavily pregnant woman with a baseball bat before demanding money.

“Fortunately she was uninjured but she was shaken by the incident. If you saw anyone in the area at the time or know who these men are please call us.”

Anyone with information should contact police on 101, quoting incident number 000887-25042014.

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