17 , said she feared being assaulted by the agitated woman after police repeatedly refused to give her an estimated time for their arrival .
she had to close the shop and put down the electronic shutter after the thief became abusive towards other customers and kept trying to leave .
when police finally got to the vintage clothing store , they said the stolen knickers , which had been reduced to £ 1 , were not worth enough to prosecute .
mrs cope has owned the baklash store in nottingham city centre for 33 years .