Pride of Australia: ‘Girl power’ wins the day over armed robber

WHEN an armed robber rampaged through a chemist demanding drugs, the instinct of the four female staff was to pick up walking sticks and “clobber him”.

WHEN an armed robber rampaged through a chemist demanding drugs, the instinct of the four female staff was to pick up walking sticks and “clobber him good and proper”.

When the would-be thief held a sharpened skewer to Birrong Pharmacy owner Alicia Lo Gabila’s neck and flung her around by the hair like a puppet, Helen Nicolaou, 61, Suzanne Collinson, 58, and Eileen (who does not want to give her surname) launched their attack, forcing the attacker to flee.

Now the heroic foursome, dubbed the “Birrong Bruisers”, have been nominated for a Pride Of Australia award, supported by Clubs NSW and registered clubs across the state.

Alicia Lo Gabila, left, manager of a Birrong pharmacy with Helen Nicolaou, Suzanne Collinson and Eileen / Picture: Jonathan Ng

Mrs Nicolaou, an assistant who has worked at the chemist for 33 years, says they are a close-knit team. “We showed a bit of girl power, I suppose, but it’s more about making sure none of us goes down,” she said. “We made sure we clobbered that guy good and proper.”

When the man allegedly grabbed Ms Lo Gabila, 38, quick-thinking Mrs Nicolaou and Eileen grabbed walking sticks and whacked him twice.

Mrs Collinson grabbed a stick and added a few more blows before customer Trieu Vo kicked the alleged attacker forcing him to flee.

Ms Lo Gabila said: “I wouldn’t encourage people to take the law into their own hands but when you run high on adrenaline, instincts kick in.”

To nominate someone you admire for a Pride of Australia award, CLICK HERE

A still from CCTV showing a man attempting to rob the pharmacy in Birrong / Supplied