'My martial arts skills stopped a robbery - and I did it all in brand new heels'
A black belt karate coach, from Rugeley, thwarted the efforts of a would-be thief has recalled her dramatic day in a Telford shop.
Watch more of our videos on ShotsTV.com
and on Freeview 262 or Freely 565
On March 3, 2023, Dr Mairi Kerin - who is a black belt in karate - chased a man who had been threatening a member of staff at LOCO Convenience Store in Hadley Park Road.
According to police, the incident was part of a series of robberies that were carried out across Telford that month. Three people were later jailed for a combined total of 18 years for their involvement.
In January this year, the now 42-year-old engineer was awarded the Police Chief Superintendent Commendation Award after her intervention. Since then, CCTV of the incident has been viewed almost 100,000 times.
Now, exactly two years on from the incident, Mairi, who lives in Rugeley, sat down with the Shropshire Star to recount the events of that day.
Even before the attempted robbery, Mairi hadn't been having the best of Fridays - a sore back and new shoes accompanied by a mix up at work that had forced her to drive from Cannock to Telford hadn't put her in the best mood.
She 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'.
