A LAKE District fish-and-chip shop owner fended off a knife attacker in Morocco using martial arts training and a bottle of Coca-Cola.

Mark Lilley, of Windermere, says he survived the potentially fatal encounter on holiday in Marrakech thanks to years of intensive lessons in the Japanese self-defence techniques of Ju-Jitsu and Iaido.

The 55-year-old, who runs The Little Chippy at Beech Street, said he also deployed a bottle of fizzy cola in self-defence when two young men approached him close to his hotel in the North African city.

Mr Lilley credits the tuition given by his martial arts teacher, Sensai Rich Smith, with giving him the physical and psychological skills needed to survive when a knife was pulled on him two-and-a-half weeks ago.

Safely back home in the Lakes, and with only a bruised arm to show for the life-endangering encounter, the chip shop owner said: "I'm not a hero; far from it. It was just the instinct of what I was trained to do, keeping calm. I was lucky.

"Realistically, the only way I wasn't injured was because I've been trained to cope with these situations."

Mr Lilley's Marrakech holiday nightmare began upon arrival by taxi at his hotel, half a mile from the tourist heart of the city. He said he felt "unnerved" when he realised his accommodation had metal security gates and was located on the outskirts - "the wrong area", as he described it.

The businessman headed out in search of a shop to buy fruit and water, and again felt a "sense of unnervingness", finding himself "watching everything, everybody". He also realised his outfit of T-shirt and shorts "stuck out like a sore thumb" away from busy central Marrakech.

Only able to find chewing gum and Coke after a 45-minute walk, Mr Lilley was heading back to the hotel when he saw a group of eight young men gathered on a corner. He crossed the road to avoid them. But, aware they were watching him, he recalled thinking: "Something is going to happen."

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Mr Lilley said he instinctively put into action the calming, meditative breathing techniques learned from Sensai Smith when two of the group, in their early 20s, crossed the road towards him to demand his wallet.

The chip shop owner, meanwhile, had opened his Coke and put his thumb on top to shake up the fizzy drink. He had also positioned himself with his back to a wall, again following his training, to prevent an attack from behind.

Mr Lilley said he refused to hand over his money, instead hitting the first attacker on the nose with the Coca-Cola bottle, then letting the drink "explode" in his face.

The second attacker then took a knife from his coat and headed straight towards Mr Lilley. Again, with instinctive recall of martial arts techniques, he pushed the mugger back with both hands, and struck him a disorientating blow behind the ear.

As the first attacker stood "screaming and shouting", Mr Lilley said he then dragged the knife holder to the floor, stood on his hand and kicked the blade into a shop doorway.

Walking backwards so as to face the men, he returned to the safety of his hotel.

As Mr Lilley explained, his martial arts lessons instilled in him the importance of reflecting on a bad experience, and his overriding thought was what a lucky escape he had had.

"Also, after a long thought process, I felt sorry for them," he added of the attackers. "Why would they do something like that, to try to take somebody's life? What did they want the money for? Was it to feed their family, to feed their habit?"

Later in the holiday, while trekking in the Atlas Mountains with two local guides, Mr Lilley learned Moroccans could earn as little as £8 per month.

"I felt sorry for them, that they have to do these things probably just to live, just to put food in their mouths."

Teacher Mr Smith praised his student's physical and mental handling of the attack as "absolutely fantastic". He said Mr Lilley's reaction of sympathy, not anger, showed what a "great guy" he was.

"A good martial arts teacher will train you how to be calm under pressure and make the right decisions," said Mr Smith, founder and technical director of Kesshin Kai martial arts club in Kendal, Windermere and Carlisle.

He stressed he was not encouraging people to tackle attackers, but said the self-defence skills taught in martial arts could help to minimise injury during a knife attack. While Ju-Jitsu is a method of close combat, Iaido is about awareness and responding to a sudden attack.

"The ultimate aim of martial arts is not having to use them, only in an emergency situation," said Mr Smith, who has trained for 39 years and taught for 23. "That's why we train, so we don't have to."

Mr Lilley, who moved to Windermere from Whitby several years ago, said the lessons taught by his "Sensai" - or teacher - had enabled him to defend himself in a calm, controlled manner.

"He did a good job," he said. "Being aware is the biggest thing, and feeling your way, picking these signs up.

"I came out of it okay. It might have been a different story."