A Largs toy shop boss bravely stood up to a balaclava-clad men who alleged tried to rob her.

The Toy Station was still open last Tuesday evening around 5.15pm and a customer was looking around the shop when teh man entered teh store and allegedly passed her a note demanding money.

Brave Sharon de Meza Dickson, who was dealing with a customer when the incident took place, told the 'News' that she told the man to 'get lost' which he then did. was preparing to close her shop when the man walked in straight to the counter, and handed over a note, allegedly making the demand.

The 'News' understands that a man has been arrested.

Speaking to the 'News', Sharon said: " He came in while I was speaking to a customer, and handed me the note. I didn't know if he had a weapon or not, I just noticed he had a bag. I gave the note back to him and told him to get lost. I didn't raise my voice, and I didn't swear. He just looked at me - and I told him again 'Get lost!'. I handed him the note back, and he turned and walked out of the shop."

Sharon is now calling on a business communication system to be re-introduced to alert shops in the area to highlight such dangers.

She said: "I have heard that there used to be a electric system in place to alert other shopkeepers in the area, if there were troublesome people in town. I am aware in other places that there is sometimes a walkie-talkie system in place if a known shoplifter is in the area.

"I was calm, but obviously a bit scared, as it was a threatening situation, but as soon as he left the premises, I phoned the police straight away, and they came quickly."

John Hamilton, Largs Town Centre BID (Business Improvement District) chairman, said: "I spoke to Sharon, and it was very bold of her to do what she did, and took a lot of courage.

"No matter how we think we may deal with a situation, you are never truly ready until it happens, and she chose to stand up to the individual, and it was very brave.

"Certainly from a business perspective, we recommend that shops have CCTV on their premises, and several retailers keep till monies low, so it is not worth it if an intruder challenges them.

"You can never fully stop crime, but what we can do is mitigate the effects."

The Largs BID is currently working with the Scottish Business Resilience Centre - a government body which incorporates police, fire brigade, and the Scottish Government, which helps minimise the effect of crime on local businesses.

John added: "There are various safe procedures and policies which businesses might want to introduce, and there are various safe schemes which we will be investigating, and the best ones which are available will be communicated to local businesses via our BID representatives - the town centre ambassadors - and we hope to get that kick-started in the new year."

Other businesses took to social media to also praise Sharon for her courage in fending off the intruder.