Showing his bottle: Shopkeeper fights off knife-wielding raider with LUCOZADE

A brave shopkeeper halted a knife-wielding raider by keeping him at bay with a bottle of LUCOZADE.

Veerasingam Senthooran, 31, was confronted by the hooded thug as he worked at the Stanhope Mini Market in Ashford, Kent.

The intruder brandished a large kitchen knife and ordered Veerasingam to empty his till.

But the fearless father-of-one hit back by throwing a bottle of Lucozade and a bottle of vodka at him - forcing him to flee empty-handed.

Veerasingam, who has owned the shop without trouble for seven years, said: "The man came in the shop and came at me with a knife. He asked me to open the till.

"There was a plastic Lucozade bottle on the counter so I just threw it at him.

RELATED: GET THE LATEST YAHOO! CRIME NEWS

"I grabbed other things to throw too, but he ran off. I was scared, but in the moment, I just threw the bottle.

"I chased him out the shop and I saw he had an accomplice outside waiting for him but the pair of them ran off.

"My first reaction was to get him out of the shop. I never would have given him any money
Kent Police said: "It was reported that a man entered the shop carrying a large kitchen knife and demanded the till was emptied.

"The shop assistant refused and the man left the shop empty handed.

"The man has been described as wearing a dark blue jacket with a large hood over his head, grey jogging bottoms and had a black scarf around his face."

Kent police are appealing for witnesses to call 101.