A HEROIC Suffolk pensioner chased off two thugs with a baseball bat after they pinned her against a wall and demanded cash in a bungled raid at a petrol station.

A HEROIC Suffolk pensioner chased off two thugs with a baseball bat after they pinned her against a wall and demanded cash in a bungled raid at a petrol station.

The would be robbers fled empty handed from the Bury Road Filling Station, Kentford, after Doreen Fairclough, 64, lashed out at them with the bat after both men grabbed and threatened her, bruising her arms, legs and shoulder.

The retired pensioner, who only works at the garage a couple of hours a week, branded the culprits "cowardly" and "evil".

"What is the world coming to when two young men attack a defenceless old lady on her own. I was terrified and just can't believe what has happened," she said.

The two black men went into the filling station at around 7.20pm on Tuesday night and grabbed Mrs Fairclough forcing her behind the counter. They demanded money but ran away when she grabbed the baseball bat and repeatedly swung it at them.

Mrs Fairclough who lives in Tuddenham, near Newmarket, said: "I was working in the garage on my own when these two men walked in and asked me for change. Then out of the blue the rushed towards and pinned me behind the counter. I just grabbed the bat without thinking and started lashing out at them, I was terrified, but I was also furious. The men then ran out of the shop and I locked up and went to pieces.

"It was a horrible experience and I am very shaken. I realise I was lucky not to be seriously hurt, but I don't think people should get away with this sort of thing. How can anyone attack an old lady."

The attempted raid happened just a night after cigarettes were stolen from the garage, after intruders smashed a window.

It is also the third time in four years robbers have targeted the filling station.

One of the offenders is described as black, 5ft 8in tall, of slim build and aged in his late teens or early twenties. His accomplice was black, 6ft tall, of slim build and also aged in his late teens to early twenties.

The men may have been in Newmarket just hours before the bungled raid after two people fitting their descriptions were reported to have been seen acting suspiciously in the town's Marks and Spencer store.

Anyone who recognises the description of the men or has information regarding the incident should contact Detective Constable Mark Scott at Newmarket CID on 01284 774100 or call Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.