This is the stunning moment an armed robber came away with more than he bargained for – after a customer in high heels kicked him out the store with her karate black belt moves.

Mairi Kerin, 42, had been buying chocolates when a masked man came in and began threatening staff at LOCO Convenience Store in Telford, Shropshire.

Without missing a beat, Mairi – a medal-winning Wadokai karate enthusiast, who is also proficient in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and boxing – calmly looked at the man before leaping into action. 

She grabbed the would-be thief’s arm and delivered a couple of firm kicks to his shins, leaving him scarpering out of the store.

Dramatic CCTV captured martial arts expert Mairi chasing the criminal from the shop before he ran away down the street.

Mairi has now been given a Police Chief Superintendent Commendation Award by West Mercia Police following her brave heroics on March 3, 2023.

Today she told how she did not think twice about jumping to the shopkeeper’s defence after hearing the man tell him: ‘I’m going to take your money.’

Mairi, from Rugeley, Staffordshire, said: ‘I had a bit of a bad back so I was quite slow and as I got out of the car I noticed this person all covered up and thought ‘You look like you’re going to rob a shop’.

This is the stunning moment an armed robber came away with more than he bargained for – after a customer in high heels kicked him out the store with her karate black belt moves

The criminal can be seen standing close to Mairi Kerin, 42, just moments before he began threatening the shop keeper

Mairi calmly walked back to the counter after kicking the man out of the store in front of the stunned shopkeeper

‘I remember telling myself you can’t think that about people, can’t pigeonhole people like that. I thought that maybe he’s just got a bike somewhere, he’s been out riding or whatever.’

Mairi spent a couple of minutes finding chocolates to surprise her nieces with after school when the same man entered the store.

She added: ‘I thought something was a little off. I heard the shopkeeper ask, ‘why did you put something against the door?’, and I heard him reply, ‘because I’m going to take your money’.

‘He said it really cool, really calm.

‘I had been getting ready to pay, so I put my phone and my keys away and then it all happened really quickly.

‘He stepped forward. I could see his pockets were full and I thought he had weapons, my eyes were glued to his pockets.

‘I just thought if I was going to wait for whatever it was that was coming out it would be too late.

‘When I saw his left hand still in his pocket I took the chance.

Instant karma: Mairi is a medal-winning Wadokai karate enthusiast, who is also proficient in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and boxing

Mairi was given a Police Chief Superintendent Commendation Award by West Mercia Police following her brave heroics on March 3, 2023

‘So I just grabbed his arm and kicked him in the shins.

‘We would later find out a knife and a firearm were involved, but whatever was in the left pocket, for that moment it was not coming out.’

She said her ‘John Wayne-style walk’ back to the counter was born out of pain from trying to break in some heels for a new job that day.

Mairi said: ‘I was wearing new heels at the time and I was trying to break them in – I hadn’t worn heels since lockdown so I needed some practice.

‘That, the bad back, and just not being in the mood resulted in that swagger back to the desk.

‘It makes me laugh when I watch it now.

‘But I kept thinking of a family I’d seen come out of the store before me, what appeared to be a father and three kids.

‘And I remember thinking about how close they had been, they missed it by about 20 seconds.’

Mairi insists she was not brave but merely acting on her martial arts and self-defence training 

Mairi says she was pleased to help bring the criminals to justice: ‘The time was right and I’m glad I was there’

Mairi insists her intervention was not bravery, but rather credits it to self-belief after 20 years of martial arts training that has seen her represent England and the Republic of Ireland.

She added: ‘The time was right, and I’m glad I was there.

‘People have asked whether I was scared. No, I was not.

‘I’ve imagining taking the legs of far more people than I will ever need to and have trained with this type of event in mind for over 20 years.

‘I have sparred in full-contact sessions with people far heavier than me and have been through the mill many times.

‘As a result, I am confident in my skills and would generally back myself in situations like these against someone of that size.

‘In my opinion this is not stupidity or bravado, it’s a reflection of self-belief.’

According to police, the incident was part of a series of robberies that were carried out across Telford that month.

Jake Jones, 21, was jailed alongside Jordan Hickman, 29, and an 18-year-old, who could not be named for legal reasons, for a combined total of 18 years

Jordan Hickman, 29, Jake Jones, 21, and an 18-year-old, who could not be named for legal reasons, were later jailed for a combined total of 18 years for their involvement.

Chief Superintendent Edd Williams said: ‘It was my pleasure to award Mairi with her bravery award.

‘Her quick thinking meant that no one was harmed during this attempted robbery and no money or goods were stolen.

‘On behalf of everyone at West Mercia Police I would like to thank Mairi for her actions, which was an inspiring act of bravery from an upstanding member of the public.’

The CCTV footage has since been viewed more than 100,000 times since being shared on social media by Wadokai England.