Shop owner throws till at robber

A teenager who allegedly held a broken bottle to a Tahunanui store-owner's face on Saturday got more than he asked for when Terrance Sharpe threw his cash register at him.

Mr Sharpe told the Nelson Mail on Monday morning about his dramatic response to a would-be thief's demands for cash and cigarettes, and how he simply decided "enough was enough".

The event left Mr Sharpe and his wife, who moved to Nelson from Wellington three weeks ago, shaken and upset.

"I was upset. I've never been confronted by anyone before."

The couple are the new owners of the Suburban Store on Tahunanui Drive, where police allege the robbery took place at 7.45pm on Saturday.

Mr Sharpe said he went over to say hello to a person standing with his back towards the counter, without thinking anything was wrong.

Mr Sharpe said that when the youth turned around, wearing a hoodie and sunglasses, he held a broken bottle to his face and demanded money, which Mr Sharpe gave to him.

The youth then allegedly demanded cigarettes, which was when Mr Sharpe decided he was not going to give in.

"Enough was enough. So I threw my till at him."

Mr Sharpe said he barely had time to think about what he was doing, and with the youth seeming quite nervous, he made up his mind to act.

His wife came into the store at the moment that Mr Sharpe threw the till at the youth, and while the till did hit him, he was able to run away. Police arrested him within 10 minutes.

Mr Sharpe said they had been inundated by people coming in to check over the weekend that they were okay, and the event had not put them off their new business. "By yesterday afternoon, we had put it behind us."

Sergeant Tod Kirker, of Nelson police, said a 15-year-old had been charged with aggravated robbery and was to appear in the Youth Court.