A determined postmistress was slightly injured fighting off a robber who tried to steal £500.

Julie Hillier, 40, who works at the Victoria Terrace Sub-Post Office in Hove, pounced on the robber after he told her to her to come out from behind the protective counter.

She said: "I tried to grab hold of his head and his face and keep him away but he pushed me and grabbed £500 of £5 notes. I chased him and scratched his face and grabbed his coat and his hat and gloves.

"I was screaming my head off and he kept telling me to shut up, but I was doing it to scare him. I was thinking, how dare he steal that money because I work really hard here six days a week and he was just trying to take it.

"But he pushed me away and all this stock fell on top of me. I ended up with a lot of bruises and marks around my throat. I don't remember him grabbing my throat, but it all happened so quickly."

Ms Hillier managed to raise the alarm. The robber and his accomplice managed to escape.

Ms Hillier said the robber had come into the post office before the incident on Friday and asked for a first-class stamp. His accomplice had also come in and bought a stamp.

She said: "Now I think about it, trying to fight him off was a bit silly. Afterwards I felt terrible. He could have had a knife or a gun and he could have killed me but that didn't cross my mind at the time."

The robber was aged 20 to 25 with dark, coarse hair and very pale skin. He was slim and about 5ft 8in tall.

He wore black trousers, black trainers and a black padded jacket with Eisenegger written around the middle. His accomplice wore an orange jacket.