Trude Mian, 65, was about to lock up the Knowle Garage shop in Braunton, Devon, when two masked robbers rushed in brandishing a 6 inch knife and a meat cleaver, demanding she hand over the money from the till and the safe.
The shocked grandmother was held at knifepoint before she gave them £50 from the till.
'I thought it was a Halloween joke until I saw the balaclavas and knives and they started shouting at me to hand over the effing money,’ she revealed.
However the brave shop keeper drew the line at giving them money from the safe, instead pressing the panic alarm, before picking up a knife one of the robbers had left on the counter.
Mian, whose husband Mr Khaliq owns the shop, then proceeded to chase them out of the shop with the large kitchen knife.
‘I saw he had left the knife on the counter and picked it up and said "you’d better go". I did hold the knife in a threatening manner and I ran after them,’ the no-nonsense grandma said.
Lee Prouse, 24, and Jamie Latta, 27, fled to their getaway car driven by Lee’s partner, Jordane Morris, 21.
But the offenders, who were homeless, were soon caught after Mrs Mian rang the police.
The ordeal was captured on CCTV, and the trio appeared in Exeter Crown Court today pleading guilty to robbery.
The trauma did not keep brave Mrs Mian from returning to work the next Monday despite the horrific experience.