Shopkeepers hit back at armed robbers

Two armed teenage girls attempting to hold up a Rotorua convenience store got more than they bargained for when the shopkeeper and his wife fought back, hurling cans and bottles of soft drink at them.

The girls, wearing hoodies and with their faces covered, walked into the Sunset Pricecutter Superette on Sunset Road armed with a knife and a knife sharpener about 5pm on Tuesday, The Daily Post reported.

When they girls approached shopkeeper Milesh Kumar and his wife Manisha, the couple threw a soft drink bottle and can of coconut cream at them before activating the alarm.

The offenders ran off, with Mr Kumar close behind.

"I wanted them to get out of the shop and I also wanted to see what direction they went."

Rotorua police Detective Sergeant Garry Hawkins said the girls appeared to be quite young and were scared off by the alarm.

They made off in a Subaru Legacy parked outside the store, he said.

- NZPA