June Turner, 89, who became a national talking point after fighting off a robber with her walking stick in 2019, has closed her shop for good. She announced her retirement from AJ and J Newsagents in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent, which she had run since 1975. The closure was prompted by a combination of the Covid pandemic and the demolition of nearby houses, which impacted trade.
A final goodbye
She runs the shop with her 69-year-old son, Alan, who started as a paperboy at age 13. They closed for the final time on Friday. June said: 'I will miss it, despite my daily 4am alarm call but we've got to go some time, haven't we? It's been marvellous.'
Alan reflected on the changes in the area: 'All round here was full of terrace properties, and it's taken 15 years before they've actually started rebuilding again and bringing the communities back. But habits have changed during that time, and it's just one of those things.' He added, 'On the whole it's been really good memories. We've had lots of fun and lots of laughs. I think I must be the oldest newspaper boy in the country.'
The robbery and its aftermath
The robbery occurred in September 2019 when Aaron Mountford, then 28, raided the shop at 6.30am demanding cash. June went 'hell for leather' at him with her walking stick. He pushed her to the floor before taking £50 and some cigarettes. Mountford was jailed for two years after admitting robbery.
Recalling the incident, June told the BBC: 'I just hit him on his back and up his bum. I just smacked him. He really had it.' She later received £250 in a High Sheriff's award for bravery. At the time, she said: 'I acted on instinct really. I thought there's no way he's having the money we work so hard to make. I wish I'd had something a bit harder with me, so I could have finished him off and knocked him out.'
