THIS BRAVE couple refused to give in to a would-be armed robber's demands, even when he pointed a gun at them in their Risca post office.

Peter and Linda Kemp, who have run the Exchange Post Office in St Mary Street for eight years, were confronted with an armed man demanding cash on Wednesday afternoon.

The ordeal started at 4.24pm when the man entered the shop which was empty of customers.

Despite having a handgun pointed at her head, manager Mrs Kemp, 56, who was working on the front counter, didn't give the gunman any money, thinking someone was playing a prank.

The couple said the man remained calm throughout, never raising his voice.

He demanded money from the till, but Mrs Kemp, who suffers with heart arrhythmia, told him there wasn't any.

He repeated his demands, but Mrs Kemp said she didn't have any, before turning and walking through to the back room to try to raise the alarm by getting someone's attention through a window, as the front door is the only way out.

Mr Kemp, 48, said: "I couldn't believe she was so calm, I started screaming at her because he was pointing a gun at her."

The man then turned the gun on subpostmaster Mr Kemp, who was working in the Post Office.

Mr Kemp slammed the parcel hatch shut and told the gunman to get out of the shop, before he fled empty-handed and Mr Kemp called 999.

Mrs Kemp said: "Later on my heart was going for hours, I couldn't settle down, it was awful. You play it over and over in your head, I suppose we're just really lucky."

Despite what happened, the couple were back at work yesterday morning.

Mr Kemp said: "We're a strong couple, we had a chat and a laugh about it last night and thanked our lucky stars it all went the right way for us."

The man is described as a white, in his twenties, approximately 5ft 8in tall with dark brown eyes and black hair.

He was wearing a black jacket and dark blue denim jeans with a black beanie hat and a black scarf wrapped around his face.

Anyone with any information can call Gwent Police on 01633 838111 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.