A media frenzy was sparked last week after a shop assistant defended herself with a broom against thugs armed with hammers.
The hooded gang attacked Premier store owner Guljinder Hayer of Worle, Somerset, after he refused to hand over money from the till. But assistant Ann Withers beat them back with a plastic broom and chased them outside.
The story broke as a new law to better protect 'have-a-go-heroes' came into force. It gives business owners a legal right to defend themselves against burglars and muggers without fear of prosecution.
Police and prosecutors will now have to assess a person's actions based on their situation "as they saw it at the time", even if in hindsight it could be that unreasonable force was used.