Smartphone blocks bullet to save life of gas station worker

Clerk had no idea he had been hit by the bullet until he pulled his phone out of his pocket

A police handout of the phone that saved a petrol station workers life by bocking a gunman's bullet (Winter Garden Police Department )

A smartphone saved the life of a petrol station worker who was shot at during a robbery in the early hours of Monday morning, Orlando police have confirmed.

The phone blocked a gunman's bullet when he fired at a clerk in a Hess station in Winter Garden.

Winter Garden Police Department said a man had entered the gas station and asked the clerk for help, before pulling out a revolver and demanding he open the safe.

When the clerk was unable to open the safe door after a first unsuccessful attempt, the thief fled, firing one shot at him upon his exit.

The employee, who was left with minor injuries, had no idea the bullet had hit him until he retrieved his mobile phone from his shirt pocket, according to police.