A WOMAN who fought back against armed robbers who attacked her with a metal bar in her shop today told the Telegraph & Argus:“I wasn’t going to let them win.”

Sila Patel, 59, said she was terrified when three masked men stormed into the Costcutter shop she co-owns with husband Dipak.

She said the men came into the shop, in Beacon Road, Wibsey, armed with a metal bar and wooden baseball bat and demanded cash from the till.

But Mrs Patel, who has run the shop since 1989, bravely pushed and shoved the men, who pulled one of the shop’s tills from its hinges. One of them also damaged a lottery till.

Her son Vishal, 30, saw the horror unfolding on the shop’s CCTV feed and quickly came to his parents’ aid, helping to push the men out of their shop.

The masked men took a quantity of cigarettes and a till containing a small amount of cash and as they fled through the shop’s front door.

Police have now released three CCTV images of the men they would like to speak to in connection with the incident.

Detectives believe the suspects left the scene in a white Ford Transit van.

The Patel family suffered minor injuries, which did not require hospital treatment, in the raid which took place at around 8.20pm on Saturday.

Mrs Patel, who was hit on the right-hand side of her head in the attack, said she bent a metal drawer edge from her shop counter which she used in defence against the men, who surrounded the counter.

She said: “We have been here for 28 years and nothing like this has happened before.

“I am terrified. They just walked in and were pushing us about. They are cowardly.

“It only lasted for two minutes, but it seemed like half an hour. I was proper scared.

“One of them leaned over the counter and I pushed him away.

“The man with the baseball bat came for me. I pressed the panic button, he did not like it. He said ‘what are you doing?’

“They came around the counter and tried to pull the till out. My husband tried to fend him off.

“He pushed me and grabbed cigarettes from the shelf behind the counter.

“I wasn’t going to let them win. I went for him. I hit him with a metal drawer edge. I was thinking that he was not going to get away with it. I ran round and pushed one of them and he went onto his side and I tried to push him out of the shop.

“One of them hit me with something but I can’t remember what it was. I got hit on my head.

“My husband and son have watched the CCTV of it, but I can’t watch the video.

“I am worried that somebody else will be coming down to the shop to try to do the same thing now.”

She says her loyal customers have shown their support, with one of them standing next to her at the shop’s counter every night since to deter any potential future attacks.

Bradford District CID is leading the investigation and is appealing for anyone who may be able to assist to come forward with any information. Detective Inspector Matt Walker said: “This was a nasty attack on a local business and while the staff were very shaken by what happened they sustained slight injuries.

“We believe the suspects arrived and left the scene in a white 13-plate Ford Transit which was seen in Buttershaw Drive at around 8pm that night and would ask anyone who may have seen this van or any suspicious activity in the area around this time to come forward.

“We would also like to hear from anyone who knows someone with similar items of clothing to those worn by the suspects.”

Anyone with information is asked to call Bradford District CID on 101, quoting crime reference 13170477706, or to Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555111.