They were armed with knives and screamed at the lone female console worker, demanding cash and cigarettes.

Christina Kelly was the nightshift worker. She was on her own at that hour of the morning and she did all the right things.

She pushed the alarm button. Then, with one armed robber behind the counter with her, and the other threatening her from the other side, she helped them to whatever they wanted.

The crime was recorded on the service station’s security cameras, which were later used by police to identify the two males responsible and led to their arrest.

Christina’s call for help rang at the service station’s security firm and at her manager’s house.

Manager Srikanth Tarigopula has been in charge of the service station for about seven months, and has previous experience working in service stations in Sydney. 

He said he had not expected an armed robbery at Inverell.

“It’s a bit out of the ordinary,” he said.

Mr Tarigopula said police responded quickly and he had also not expected an arrest so soon.

“They’ve done a good job,” he said.

He said Christina had handled the robbery very well and had returned to work the following day.

“She has a lot of experience in service stations on how to handle this sort of situation. She managed very well actually,” Mr Tarigopula said. “I have a lot of experience with this sort of thing and everyone is positive. 

“Christina worked the next night, so she is happy with what she has done.”