Landlord praises 'gutsy' Briton

Joanne Lees took refuge in the Barrow Creek Hotel

An Australian hotel owner has described how he comforted the British tourist who escaped the clutches of a gunman who is believed to have shot her boyfriend.

Joanne Lees was taken to the Barrow Creek Hotel, in the Northern Territory, after she flagged down a passing motorist.

She's just a wonderful gutsy lady

Les Pilton
Hotel owner

The 27-year-old had spent four hours cowering in the bush hiding from a gunman, who had ambushed her and her boyfriend's camper van.

Hotel owner Les Pilton described Miss Lees as a "wonderful gutsy lady."

"When she arrived, she was very, very frightened.

Peter Falconio and Joanne Lees were travelling through Australia

"You could quite clearly see part of what she'd been through with marks on her elbows and knees where she'd been dragged and marks on her wrists where she'd been bound."

He said the young woman had been very distressed by her ordeal but that he was impressed by her composure in the circumstances.

His hotel has become the centre of police operations as the hunt continues for the gunman and Miss Lees' boyfriend.

Miss Lees told Mr Pilton they had been stopped by a man claiming there were sparks coming from their vehicle.

Gunshot sound

"The lass had an instinct that perhaps they shouldn't stop," he said.

When they pulled over her boyfriend Peter Falconio, 28, got out and went to the back of their camper van.

That was when she heard a gunshot.

"She's starting to have to get to know now within herself that the shot that she heard was, in fact, her partner being shot and killed," he said.

She has been a credit to herself in the way that she's been able to cope with such a traumatic time.

Les Pilton

Miss Lees was then tied up but managed to escape.

"He bound her hands in front of her and she was able to undo her leg strappings and that's how she got away.

"He came looking for her with his torch and with his dog but she just remained hidden.

"There were times where you could see her slip in terms of composure but then she'd pull herself together and, quite honestly, she has been a credit to herself in the way that she's been able to cope with such a traumatic time.

Mr Pilton said Miss Lees told him that she and her boyfriend had earlier stopped by his roadhouse to view a sunset before continuing their journey through the Northern Territory.

"She's just a credit to what I suppose we all should do in terms of sticking to something, to surviving.

"She is just one wonderful young lady and she's really got incredible strength of character."