A SHOP assistant foiled an attempted armed robbery when she refused to hand over cash to three gun-toting thugs.

The employee at Martins Newsagents on Chorleys Lane, Widnes, kept her cool when confronted by the raiders - including one who was hiding a gun under his arm.

Marie Boothe, store manager, said staff were amazed at the tale of how their colleague sent the robbers packing.

Mrs Boothe said of her assistant, who does not want to be named: 'Three masked men came in and pulled a gun on her and she just said 'that's not a real gun' .

'She said later she didn't actually know whether the gun was real or not but she was shattered and couldn't be bothered with them. They demanded money three times and she refused.

'In the end, she told them to 'b**ger off out of the shop'. They left empty-handed and she locked the door behind them.

'We call her 'The Rottweiler' now!' Police have issued a description of the offenders. The armed man was white, 16-20 years old, of medium build with a chubby face. He was 5ft 6-7ins tall, and wore dark clothes including a Nike hoody with a faint smiley logo on the front. He had a Widnes accent.

The second was white, 16-20, 5ft 5ins, wearing a blue tracksuit, possibly Nike, with a white stripe across the chest and a blue cap.

The third was of similar appearance, about 5ft 5ins and had a black tracksuit with a white flash on the hood.

Witnesses should contact DC Sarah Evans on 01244 613966 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.